6 Players the Boston Red Sox Should Have on Their Radar in 2012

It is no secret that the Red Sox are cash-strapping themselves in 2012.

They are making every effort to stay below the luxury tax so they can have a "clean slate" heading into the 2013 season.  I have come to terms with this.  The rest of the 'Nation should as well.

That does not mean that fans should be short-sighted.  While looking to the 2013 season, the Red Sox team that takes the field will look very different from the one we will see on opening day in 2012.  Players like Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Marco Scutaro may all be gone.  Right field could very well still be a question mark.

In other words, NEXT winter is going to be a lot of fun.  The luxury tax threshold increases and the Sox will have some money to spend.

With that in mind, here are six players that both the Sox brass, and Sox fans should keep their fingers on the pulse of in 2012.

Andre Ethier, Right Field

I am a fan of Andre Ethier.  I like his style of play and he appears to have a solid personality as well.

He will be a free-agent come the end of the season, assuming his contract is not extended at some point during the season.  He will be turning 30 this April and would be 31 when taking the field in 2013.

He has been playing in the big leagues since he was 24 and during that time he has posted a career batting line that looks like this: .291/.364/.479/.843.

His numbers across the board remind me a lot of an old Red Sox favorite, Trot Nixon.  Ethier is a 20 home run, 80 RBI guy that is a bit slow on the base paths but is a solid doubles hitter that may not necessarily need to use his speed.

His availability is going to come down to how the Dodgers play this season and if new ownership views Ethier as an important piece of their puzzle moving forward.

Nick Swisher, Right Field

Nick Swisher is a player that would cause me to lie to you if I told you I knew he'd pan out to be as good as he is.

Is he an All-Star?  Nope, not at all.

Is he a solid right fielder?  You bet he is.

Swisher has been an important piece in the Yankees lineup over the past couple of years, often times providing offense when there was none to be had.  He has a playful personality that would go over well with Red Sox fans.  While he posts a lower career batting average than Ethier (.254), the rest of his batting line is pretty impressive with a .360 OBP, .466 SLG and .826 OPS.

Swisher gives you more pop in the bat, averaging over 25 long balls per season, but offers about the same stolen base totals as Ethier.

In my book, Swisher would be a solid Plan-B.

Matt Cain, Starting Pitcher

Matt Cain (in this lineup) would be a solid, bottom of the rotation acquisition.  He is not an ace by any means, but Cain would be able to fill a void in this team by adding pitching depth.

Sure, he posts a losing record (69-73) going into the 2012 season, but since 2009 he has gone 39-30 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.116 WHIP.  He's getting better and figuring things out.

Also, he's only 27 and would only be 28 going into the 2013 season.

Cain also averages 211 innings pitched per season making 33 starts on average.  He's a horse.  Perhaps the horse we thought John Lackey was supposed to be.

Cole Hamels, Starting Pitcher

On the flip side, I view Cole Hamels as a front of the rotation starter.

He's proven himself in Philadelphia and has an impressive 74-54 career record.  To me it is a bit of a shame that Hamels has dropped down to be a number three in the starting rotation, but I guess it is a bit hard to compete with the likes of Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee.

Hamels has the potential to come to Boston and be the ace or the number two pitcher on this staff.  Now, before you hang me for that statement, hear me out.

The Red Sox have NO CLUE what to expect out of Josh Beckett in 2012.  Sure, we all think he's going to come back strong, and ready to prove a point, but there is another school of thought that says he very well could just mail it in.  He's gotten his pay day and two World Series rings (Florida and Boston) so why bother?

Enter Hamels and his 3.39 ERA and 1.141 WHIP.  Put him before or after Lester on this staff and you'll have a younger front of the rotation capable of making 66 starts between the two of them and compiling 400+ innings. 

Zack Greinke, Starting Pitcher

I won't lie to you, I have serious reservations about Zack Greinke.

He is 75-53 in games in which he's started, 76-73 lifetime.

I view him as a great small-market pitcher, but I'm not sure he'd survive in the likes of Boston or New York.

Point of fact, Greinke has faced the AL East 49 times, starting 38 of those games.  During which time he pitched 244 innings and posted a 10-18 record.  His ERA is 4.48 with a 1.326 WHIP and 7.44 K/9 ratio.

Narrowing it down a bit more, Greinke has pitched in Boston, New York, Baltimore and Tampa Bay a total of 15 times, starting 12 games totaling 74.1 innings.  During which time he posted an 0-7 record with a 4.74 ERA and 1.539 WHIP with a 7.39 K/9 ratio.

Needless to say, my hesitations have some basis of fact behind them, but, pitching is always in demand.

James Shields, Starting Pitcher

Some Sox fans still hold a grudge against Shields for throwing fisticuffs with Coco Crisp (trust me, I know some).  The fact of the matter is, Shields is a beast.

His entire career has been spent pitching in the AL East where he has a winning record of 72-63 with a career 3.96 ERA and 1.233 WHIP.  Not impressed by that?

In 2011 Shields seemed to figure a lot out with his mechanics and posted a career best 16 wins (16-12 record) with a career low 2.82 ERA and career low 1.043 WHIP with an 8.1 K/9 ratio.

More so, against the AL East in 2011, he posted an 8-7 record with a 2.04 ERA in 15 games and 117 innings pitched.  His WHIP was only .928 with a 7.5 K/9 ratio.

While playing in opposing AL East ballparks, he went 3-4 with a 2.07 ERA in 7 games and 56 innings with a .844 WHIP and 7.2 K/9 ratio.

Convinced yet?