It was announced this week that the Red Sox would be willing to trade Marco Scutaro. With the Giants in need of a shortstop for 2011, let's take a look at whether or not Scutaro would be a good option...
Scutaro is set to make $5MM in 2011 with an option for 2012, so he's not too expensive. The Red Sox, however, would likely receive something considerable in exchange for Scutaro, as solid shortstops are hard to come by these days.
In 2010, Scutaro put up a slash line of .275/.333/.388 with 11 home runs. His 7.6% walk rate this year was rather disappointing, considering that he had a 13.2% walk rate in 2009, but it will likely regress toward his career 9% walk rate in 2011, which is pretty good. His bat overall is nothing too impressive...He has relatively weak power, although for a shortstop, that's average. He's essentially a contact hitter -- he had a very low 11.2% K rate in 2010. Anyway, he likely wouldn't be a big presence in the lineup. Nevertheless, he's a serious upgrade over the performance the Giants received from Edgar Renteria over the past two years.
The one nice part about Scutaro is that he's extremely durable, having played in at least 140 games in each of the last three years, and at least 100 games in each of the last seven years. After having a shortstop endure a plethora of injuries over the past two years (Renteria), it would be nice to have a guy like Scutaro.
Scutaro's defense, much like his offense, is nothing too impressive. He's better suited for second base, but serviceable at shortstop. He doesn't cover a whole lot of range, but would likely give the Giants similar defense to that which they've gotten out of Juan Uribe and Edgar Renteria over the past two years.
In conclusion, Scutaro is neither a defensive nor offensive star. He is, however, solid in both those categories, and considering that he's a shortstop, that's very acceptable. For $5MM, he would definitely be worth it. The one question seems to be what the Giants would have to give up in order to acquire him. However, considering the other shortstop possibilities -- like Orlando Cabrera and Edgar Renteria -- Scutaro is an attractive option.
