Has Alex Cora asked the Red Sox to trade him away?

It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility if Red Sox management informed the good soldier/utility infielder that Jed Lowrie was going to get the majority of reps at shortstop. Given Cora's always constant view of himself as still capable of starting in the big leagues, the 32-year-old surely expected to get some playing time at short in Julio Lugo’s absence – and Lowrie's growing playing time might be a situation that isn't sitting well with the veteran Cora.

According to this pieceon www.cbssportline.com, the Sox are in talks with the Chicago White Sox about swapping Cora to the Pale Hose for Juan Uribe, who has been largely riding the pine for the ChiSox this season. At certain times Uribe has been available in a deal, but he's played as of late with 3B Joe Crede suffering through some back issues. Uribe can play third base, shortstop and second base and has some pop in his bat if he’s utilized in the same utility role as Cora, but it’s confounding to figure out why the Sox would deal Cora -- a player that’s been a huge part of the collective clubhouse conscience in Boston over the last three plus seasons.

Either the report is dead wrong [certainly not out of the realm of possibility when you consider Uribe’s awful on base stats over the course of his career…a .294 on base percentage for his career? Yikes], or Cora requested a trade to the team where his big brother is the trusted bench coach. This is one that caught me by surprise, but maybe it shouldn't have.

One positive: the Sox aren't going to be asked for Clay Buchholz or Justin Masterson in this particular transaction.

Also, I've had some good Engel Beltre talk on the radio the last few days, so here's an updateon the 18-year-old centerfielder that was the unspoken piece of the Eric Gagne trade last July. The lefty swinger and toolsy athlete is ripping up the Midwest League at a .350 clip since the All-Star break and looks like a blossoming prospect. Beltre represents a good cautionary tale about trading prospects for unpredictable bullpen commodities...but all that being said I still say that the Gagne trade, in theory, should have worked.

Adding insult to injury, Beltre was at the top of Baseball America's most recent Prospect Hot Sheet.

 

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