Boston Red Sox: Why Ryan Sweeney Will Be the Next Right Fielder in Boston

The Boston Red Sox trade with the Oakland Athletics is looked at mainly due to the fact that they finally acquired a closer in Andrew Bailey, but it seems like another key player in Ryan Sweeney is overlooked.

Sweeney lays it all on the line on defense and grinds out at-bats to make the pitcher work. These intangibles make him a great fit in the Red Sox lineup. He reminds me of a young Kevin Youkilis with the way he works the count and the pitcher every plate appearance.

Sweeney will be the main guy who will play right field for the Red Sox due to to his plate discipline, his good defensive abilities, his ability to be a team player, his ability to get on base and his youth.

Sweeney Is Gritty

The Boston Red Sox love those players who can grind out each at-bat and draw a walk or just move the runner along. Sometimes the Red Sox just want the pitcher out of the game and Ryan Sweeney can really help do just that.

According to Ian Browne of mlb.com, "Given that he will be playing in front of a fan base that has always admired gritty players like Trot Nixon, Bill Mueller and Gabe Kapler, Sweeney might just have the type of audience to appreciate all he brings."

He had just 264 at-bats in 2011, but that was mainly because there were better players who got the playing time in Oakland.

If he gets the playing time, then Sweeney will be able to put up pretty solid offensive numbers. For instance, when he was healthy in 2009, he hit .293 with six home runs and 53 RBI. His OBP was .348, and he walked a career-high 40 times. That sounds like a pretty solid right fielder with the offense that the Red Sox have going for them in 2012 and beyond.

Sweeney Can Play Defense

Ryan Sweeney has played all three outfield positions in his career, but right field is the best bet for the Boston Red Sox since they have Jacoby Ellsbury roaming around in center and Carl Crawford already settled in left field.

That is exactly what Sweeney needs as he has played most of his games in right field. He has totaled 269 games in right field and in those games he has 17 assists, three errors and three double plays in 515 total chances.

This all adds up to a .994 fielding percentage over his career. That is very impressive and his last error came in 2009. That was over 300 chances ago.

Sweeney Can Be a Team Player

Ryan Sweeney and Andrew Bailey came as a package deal and Bailey was high on how well Sweeney will play for the Boston Red Sox on mlb.com:

"

You look at his stats—he's a big-time singles, doubles guy. He doesn't really drive the ball out of the ballpark, but he gets things done. He usually floats around .290, .300 for most of the year. He's a guy who brings good character into the clubhouse. He's not an ego guy, either. I'm looking forward to being able to start this with him. I'm excited that he's going to be there with me.

"

The Red Sox need a good clubhouse presence after "chicken-gate" and Sweeney can hopefully be a part of the change in the Red Sox mindset over the next couple of seasons.

Sweeney Can Get on Base

Ryan Sweeney may not be a power hitter, but he gets on base anyway he can and that would be great for the Boston Red Sox out of the bottom of their lineup.

His career OBP is .342 and in 2011, when he was a fourth outfielder, his OBP was .346. That should should be the norm when he plays with the Red Sox.

Also, Sweeney does not strikeout often. Over the past two seasons, he has totaled 89 strikeouts. The ability to hit the ball into play is another factor that leads me to believe that he will be able to get his job done as the right fielder for the Red Sox.

Yes, this means no more looking at a third strike that JD Drew was famous for.

Sweeney's Age

Ryan Sweeney will turn 27 in about a month and that means who knows what could happen over the next couple of seasons. Maybe Fenway Park brings out the "monster" in him, and he starts cranking out doubles and homers off of and over the Green Monster.

Maybe he just gets his job done as the bottom of the lineup guy and the fans enjoy each plate appearance and catch in a Boston Red Sox uniform.

All I know is that Sweeney is one of those players who is fun to watch, so watch out Sox fans when they go out to Fenway for Sweeney.