No, not THAT Adrian.

Off the Monster would like to extend a cordial welcome to the newest member of the Boston Red Sox: Adrian Beltre. As much as I'd like to think Theo was going for a certain first baseman from San Diego and simply got mixed up, I agree with the sentiments of the Globe's Peter Abraham:

"Long-term, this suggests they do not believe they can pry Adrian Gonzalez away from the Padres any time soon. It also would seem to indicate that Mike Lowell will either play off the bench or be traded."

Not that this is particularly unexpected, but I won't pretend to be thrilled about it. Beltre is absolutely an upgrade defensively over Lowell, but he's not the bat that Mikey has been over the course of his career. Of course, part of the issue here is that Mike is getting older and, as we've been noticing, much more fragile. Though Lowell hit .290 last season, he only played in 119 games, and as he's already been part of an attempted trade, he's clearly not the first choice (if you ask the front office).


Beltre has been a power bat in the past; it's entirely possible that last season's failures were a fluke, and that he'll recover in the next year. However, the way the deal is structured, we'll be stuck with Beltre if the production doesn't return, and if he has a monster year, then he won't trigger the player option.

Sentimentally, I love Mikey. Ideally, I want Adrian Gonzalez. But practically? I guess I'm okay with Beltre.