The time-tested adage in sports says that a player shall not lose his starting job due to injury. The seat can be kept warm by a fill-in, yet it’s only a matter of time before order is restored and roles are properly calibrated.
This reasoning may seem silly in a region where we saw Drew Bledsoe not even receive a sniff of reclaiming the starting quarterback duties for the Patriots. Bill Belichick chose to nip controversy in the butt, settling on the hot hand (Tom Brady) instead of reverted back to the status quo (Bledsoe).
Nobody will argue with the final result, which featured Brady orchestrating New England to a Super Bowl finish in Feb. 2002, but one can wonder what would have happened if Belichick had chosen not to buck conventional wisdom and place Bledsoe back under center once his chest injury had subsided.
We revisit the past because we’re on the cusp of seeing a similar situation play out with the Red Sox. The mere presence of Jed Lowrie in a Pawtucket uniform suggests it’s only a matter of time before he is cleared to return to a position he held before undergoing surgery on his left wrist in April, that being Boston’s starting shortstop.
But is that necessarily the case? Does Lowrie reclaim squatter’s rights?
“I believe I’m a starting shortstop in the major leagues, but that’s something for me to go out and prove day in and day out,” Lowrie was saying when asked flat-out if he expects a reinsertion upon completing his rehab assignment. “It doesn’t matter if I’m a 10-year guy or a one-year guy. You still have to go out and prove it every day.”
Nothing has been etched in stone saying Lowrie will be handed the keys to shortstop once his stay with the PawSox dries up. He may have held the starting gig on Opening Day and during the postseason last October, but much has changed in the two-plus months Lowrie has been off the scene.
The Red Sox opted to hold an open tryout, banking on a solution emerging internally. Julio Lugo was awarded first dibs, but he frittered away his shot thanks to far too many defensive lapses. Now Lugo is commonly referred to as Theo Epstein’s $36 million mistake.

Lugo eventually ceded playing time to Nick Green, a non-roster invitee who was ticketed to play middle infield for Pawtucket this season. By no means is Green flashy, but what he has going in his favor is that he hasn’t rocked the boat. The Red Sox continue to sit atop in the A.L. East with a shortstop that’s on pace to establish a new career high in games played (Green’s previous high is 111, set with Tampa Bay in 2005. As of Sunday, he stood at 58).
The sentiment for the longest time was that the Red Sox needed to make an upgrade at shortstop. How can a team blessed with steep pockets and a fertile farm system to use as potential bargaining chips march into a pennant race with a part-time player (Green) as the incumbent and the mistake-prone Lugo in the hole? Green’s strong contributions have made that a mute point for now, but there’s the matter of that Lowrie guy who’s currently waiting in the wings.
“I know Nick has been playing well,” said Lowrie. “I’m glad the team is winning because it would probably [accelerate the rehab schedule] if things weren’t going well.”
Lowrie has been the People’s Choice for sometime simply because he’s last name is not Lugo. The pieces fell accordingly during spring training when Lugo went down with a knee injury, bringing to end the main storyline of an otherwise melodrama-free camp. The door was opened for Lowrie to take over, but he went off to the operating table after collecting just one hit in his initial 18 at-bats.
What Lowrie is seeking is to recapture his Grapefruit League mojo (.343 in 25 games). After weeks of building up strength in his wrist, the 25-year-old supplemental first-round pick has reached the point where he can face live pitching. That tells you he’s inching closer to becoming cleared, but there are a few variables to consider.
From a player standpoint, just how healthy is Lowrie’s surgically repaired wrist? He admitted he’s at “85 percent,” that according to the latest strength test taken a few weeks back. Will it heal to the point where he can handle the everyday grind of manning such a demanding position?
“I’m trying to get back into baseball shape,” said Lowrie. “I have to play and prove I’m the player they saw in spring training.”
In terms of where Lowrie fits into the team concept, that is open to conjecture. Does Lowrie automatically supplant Green and Boston does the inevitable, which is show Lugo the door? Will a Lowrie-Green platoon be the path chosen? Or do the Red Sox simply keep Lowrie stationed in Pawtucket until he demonstrates he is pain-free and head into the dog days of summer with the present scheme?
Whatever the case, we should realize some benchwarmer unpleasantness is in someone’s future. There is no way Boston will carry three shortstops.
As Lowrie noted, “This game works itself out.” Such was the case of Bledsoe vs. Brady, where the understudy wound up displacing the seasoned vet.
A solution to the Red Sox’ shortstop merry-go-round – at least for this season – is forthcoming. Just be aware that a sports-standard protocol may not be applied.