Julio

Zuleta

Can Zuleta be considered Bill Mueller insurance in case Boston’s starting third baseman goes down? Not likely, as he’s played the position only a handful of times in his career. Although Zuleta does have 11 homers, he hasn’t played especially well this year, managing just an 808 OPS. He’s not likely to join the Red Sox any time soon.

Zuleta was hitting .275 with 12 HR and 49 RBI in 55 games for Pawtucket. He’ll probably be very successful in Japan.

Zuleta leads the International League with 10 homers and 39 RBI. He really has nothing left to prove in the minors, but the Red Sox are chock full of 1B/DH types, so Zuleta may have to hope for a trade.

Zuleta has been impressive, but unless the Red Sox attempt to trade David Ortiz, there’s just no room for him on the team. He’ll begin the year in Triple-A.

Zuleta did what he could to win a job, batting .367 and driving in 10 runs in 30 AB. There are a lot of teams that could use his bat, but the Red Sox just aren’t one of them.

Zuleta was offered about $3 million to remain with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, which is likely better than he’d do in the U.S. The 31-year-old could be a cheap option at first base for some team, but those aren’t hard to find right now. His agent will try to play up the fact that he has seven career homers off Daisuke Matsuzaka. In all, he hit hit .291/.378/.568 with 122 homers in 1,596 at-bats in Japan.

Zuleta, a former Cubs prospect, was playing in Triple-A with the Red Sox before leaving for Japan in June 2003. He’s since hit .291/.378/.568 with 122 homers in 1,596 at-bats with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. His best season came in 2005, when he batted .319 with 43 homers. It seems unlikely that there will be a lot of interest in him as a first baseman or a DH in MLB, but perhaps some team would take a chance. He’d almost certainly make more money by staying in Japan.

The 31-year-old contemplated a return to the U.S. after talks with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks broke down, but he probably wasn’t going to get any guaranteed money from an MLB team. Zuleta is a .291/.378/.568 hitter with 122 homers in 1,596 at-bats in Japan.