While Jose Iglesias has been a pleasant surprise for the Red Sox this season, recently taking over the starting third base job from the demoted Will Middlebrooks, the club is on the lookout for other options. And they have one name at the top of their list.
George A. King III of the New York Post was told by an industry source that the Red Sox want Phillies third baseman Michael Young “badly.” With Kevin Youkilis potentially out for the season following back surgery and Alex Rodriguez a question mark following hip surgery and the uncertainty of the Biogenesis investigation, King speculates that the Yankees could also be a fit.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. has said on multiple occasions that he has no intention to be a seller, though things could obviously change if the team falls further out of the race in the next month. They’ll enter play today at 39-42 on the season, 7 1/2 games behind the Braves in the National League East and 6 1/2 games back for a Wild Card spot.
Young is batting .289/.348/.412 with five home runs and 21 RBI in 74 games with the Phillies this season. Acquired from the Rangers during the winter, the 36-year-old is still owed around $8 million for the rest of the season. He has a full no-trade clause, so he would have to sign off on a potential deal.
While Iglesias has received most of the playing time at third base for the Red Sox of late, he’s starting at shortstop today in place of Stephen Drew, who left last night’s game with hamstring tightness. The Red Sox called up Jonathan Diaz today as a stopgap option for the hot corner.
