The Red Sox have released 23-year old lefty reliever Jose Capellan. Capellan pitched in 29 games (16 starts) in A-ball last season and he was 6-4 with 1 save, a 6.34 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. He pitched 4 years in the Red Sox’ minor league system appearing in 69 games (51 starts) and he was 17-14 with 1 save, a 4.64 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. The Red Sox have not seen any improvement from Capellan as a pitcher so they had no problem getting rid of him.

34-year old lefty swinging DH David Ortiz put up decent overall numbers last season but he was awful in the first half before finishing strong. Ortiz played in 150 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 129 for 541 (.238 avg, .794 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 28 homers and 99 RBIs. Ortiz has been incredible in his career with the Red Sox as he has averaged 96.3 runs scored, 37 homers and 118.6 RBIs in his 7 years with them. In 996 games with the Red Sox Ortiz has a .288 batting average with a .967 OPS. Don’t expect Ortiz to put up his usual season with the Red Sox in 2010 as he appears to be a player starting to slide a bit. Ortiz only hit .212 against lefty pitchers with a .716 OPS in 165 at bats against them last season. If he continues to have problems against lefties and if Mike Lowell is still on the team the Red Sox might start platooning at DH. Lowell hit .301 with a .866 OPS against lefties last season in 143 at bats against them.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DH IN 2010: B

The Red Sox have brought in 30-year old righty swinging Adrian Beltre to play 3B for them in 2010. He is coming off a bad year for him as he played in 111 games for the Mariners in which he was 119 for 449 (.265 avg, .683 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers, 44 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The Red Sox are hoping that Beltre his numbers offensively rebound to his career norms of a .270 avg, with a .778 OPS. Beltre was brought in by the Red Sox more for his mitt than his bat. He made 14 errors in 111 games at 3B for the Mariners last season while showing out of this world range.

35-year old righty swinging Mike Lowell is still on the Red Sox as of right now. He will likely back up at 1B and 3B for the Red Sox in 2010 if they don’t trade him first. A deal fell through with the Rangers over the winter because Lowell needed surgery on his thumb. If he looks healthy in spring training the Red Sox will likely attempt to deal him again. Lowell played in 119 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 129 for 445 (.290 avg, .811 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 17 homers and 75 RBIs. Lowell made 9 errors in 107 games at 3B for the Red Sox last season while showing slightly below average range.

30-year old righty swinging Bill Hall will also likely get some playing time at 3B for the Red Sox in 2010. Hall played in 110 games for the Mariners and Brewers last season and he was 67 for 334 (.201 avg, .596 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 8 homers and 36 RBIs. The Red Sox are hoping that Hall can hit his career norms of .251 with a .750 OPS in 2010 as he is a much better hitter than he showed last season. Hall is a good defensive 3B as he only made 4 errors in 69 games there last season while showing good range.

30-year old righty swinging Kevin Youkilis will focus on playing 1B in 2010 but he can handle playing 3B if the Red Sox need him to. Youkilis played in 63 games at 3B for the Red Sox last season while making only 4 errors and showing good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: B

It seems like the Red Sox have been cursed at shortstop since trading Hanley Ramirez to the Marlins. They have signed 34-year old righty swinging Marco Scutaro to start at shortstop this season. Scutaro is coming off a career season and the Red Sox hope that it wasn’t a mirage. Scutaro played in 144 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 162 for 574 (.282 avg, .788 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 12 homers, 60 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. The Red Sox hope that he can come close to those numbers again in 2010 because he’s just a average defensive player. Scutaro played in 143 games at shortstop for the Blue Jays last season and he made 10 errors while showing average range. The one thing that Red Sox’ fans will likely love about Scutaro is that he is a gamer.

30-year old righty swinging Bill Hall will likely get a crash course at shortstop this spring as they want him to be the utility man for them in 2010. I think he will be a average defender at shortstop because he is a quick learner and a good athlete.

26-year old switch hitting Jed Lowrie is the lastest of the overhyped prospects in the Red Sox’ system. He played in 32 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 10 for 68 (.147 avg, .476 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. His excuse was that his wrist was hurting but my response to that would be, “Why didn’t you tell someone instead of being overmatched all the time and hurting the Red Sox?” He only made 1 error in 26 games at SS for the Red Sox in 2009 while showing below average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SS IN 2010: C+

The Red Sox have claimed 23-year old righty starting pitcher Gaby Hernandez off waivers from the Mariners. He pitched in 26 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 10-9 with a 5.23 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Hernandez has now pitched in 137 games (134 starts) in his minor league career and he is 46-45 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Hernandez was once a highly thought of prospect so it won’t hurt the Red Sox to give him a chance this season in the minors.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have DFA’d Hernandez to make room for Casey Fien on the roster.

UPDATE II: Hernandez has been claimed off waivers from the Royals.