What does Youkilis bring to the White Sox?

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White Sox third basemen have combined for a .466 OPS this season, so even if Kevin Youkilis' offense doesn't return to an elite level, he'll still statistically represent an offensive upgrade over the combination of Brent Morel, Orlando Hudson, Brent Lillibridge and Eduardo Escobar.

After going 2-4 with a triple on Sunday, Youkilis is hitting .233.315.377 with four home runs and 14 RBIs over 42 games this season. That's a stark departure from his career line of .286.388.487, and it opened the door for rookie Will Middlebrooks to take over third base in Boston.

Youkilis battled a lower back injury that caused him to miss nearly a month from late April to late May. Since returning, he has a .698 OPS, as opposed to a .635 OPS in April before hitting the disabled list.

The 33-year-old Youkilis has never played a season with a walk rate under 10 percent, although in 2012 he's earning a free pass in 8.7 percent of his trips to the plate. He's traditionally killed fastballs, but his success against that pitch has tailed off this season according to FanGraphs' pitch values tool. His contact rate is also down, at 80.7 percent as opposed to an 83.5 percent career.

Advanced defensive metrics have Youkilis pegged as a below-average third baseman, although not by as much as some seem to think. Ultimate Zone Rating has Youkilis worth -5 runs over the last four years, while Defensive Runs Saved has him at 0.

Youkilis played a career-high 112 games at third base in 2011. He hadn't played over 500 innings at the hot corner since his rookie year of 2004 prior to last year.

In nine seasons, Youkilis has been worth 28 Wins Above Replacement (per FanGraphs). Since his first full season of 2006, Youkilis has never had a WAR below 2.5 and hasn't had a WAR below 3.7 since '06.

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