Grady Sizemore is an interesting subject. Indians fans and fans of the AL Central know that when Sizemore is healthy he can be one of the best players in the game. The key words there, though, are when he’s healthy. Grady played just thirty-three games in 2010 and seventy-one this past season. Easily capable of twenty-five home runs, eighty batted-in, and a batting average over three hundred, he would be fun to watch. Once thought of as the face of the Cleveland Indians this star wrapped in an injury-covered box could be a fit.
Alex Rios’ trouble in center field has most likely opened up the position. Brent Lillibridge and Rios are really our only two options right now. Sizemore’s grocery list of injuries will turn away quite a few teams but Kenny Williams isn’t beyond picking up a beat-up free agent. What could a Sizemore signing mean for the Sox?
– We add a good hitter. In limited playing time for the Indians last year Sizemore did a good deal of damage. Cleveland was rolling along for a while and when they got Grady back it was almost as if they kicked it into the next gear. Batting lead-off or in the two hole for the Sox he could get on base and the thumpers in the middle of the lineup could drive him in easily, or he could provide a threat in the #7 or #8 spots.
– We add a speedster. I’m usually against using the word “speedster” but Sizemore really is one. He has speed but because of his injuries he doesn’t really utilize it anymore. Williams is a big fan of speed and if Grady can rehab a little over the offseason I think we could squeeze some speed out of him.
– We get a good defender. Something that would be more than welcome in the center field spot for the White Sox. The most errors Grady has ever committed in a season? Three. His speed gives him a wide range and his low error rate means he catches 99% of what he can get to.
– We get Grady Sizemore.
I mentioned in my last post about 2012 free agents that Jason Kubel could be an interesting pickup. There are a lot of good free agent outfielders on the market right now, and maybe even a couple we could trade for. (But at the moment we don’t have many players to trade other than a few prospects.) Kubel and Sizemore would both fit the need for a consistent left-handed bat in the lineup. Of course you have A.J. Pierzynski, who is solid in the sense that he’s a good hitter, but there’s also Adam Dunn who is solid in the sense that he’s.. uhm… a rotund man?
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