The Red Sox continue to work quietly behind the scenes putting all the little pieces into place. The signing of free agent outfielder-first baseman Brad Wilkerson to a minor-league contract received little fanfare, but the 31-year-old lefthanded hitter provides some valuable insurance for the club in several areas.
If Mike Lowell, for example, is slow to recover from off-season hip surgery or suffers another disabling injury and the Red Sox have to move Kevin Youkilis over to third base, they now have either Mark Kotsay or Wilkerson to play first. Wilkerson has a lot more experience at that position than Kotsay and is better suited to handle it for an extended period of time.
If J.D. Drew goes down for a long stretch and Rocco Baldelli is physically incapable of playing every day, both Wilkerson and Kotsay give them depth in the outfield.
Wilkerson is coming off a poor year with the Mariners and Blue Jays, and he hasn’t hit as high as .250 since 2004. He’s a low-average, strikeout-prone hitter but with a good batting eye and power. But he hit 20 homers for the Rangers two years ago, has three 20-homer seasons in the majors, and four times has drawn 80-plus walks. His best season was 2004 when he batted .255 with 32 homers, 39 doubles, 67 RBI, 106 walks, and 13 stolen bases for the Expos.
Wilkerson is a lifetime .247 hitter with 122 homers and 399 RBI in 972 major-league games.