According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, the Red Soxare mulling moving Jacoby Ellsbury to left field.
While the club still views Ellsbury as their center fielder of the future, he posted a below-average -12.3 UZR/150 in 2009 . Only Colorado rookie Dexter Fowler (-15.2) had a lower rating among center fielders with at least 900 innings played. Ellsbury posted an excellent +30.3 UZR/150 in 58 games played in left field in 2008.
If the Red Sox decide to slide Ellsbury over to left field, they will surely have to find an adequate defensive replacement. Silverman names Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran as a potential trade target. The 32-year-old Beltran has a career UZR/150 of +3.6 in center field. He also has two years and $37 million left on his current contract, which would only slightly more per year than Jason Bay will get on the open market this winter. A small price to pay for a better all-around player. The one problem with Silverman’s suggestion is that Beltran has a full no-trade clause in his contract.
