The Red Sox signed Nomar Garciaparra to a 1-day contract yesterday so that he could retire as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Garciaparra played 9 years for the Red Sox in which he played in 966 games. In those 966 games, Garciaparra was 1,281 of 3,968 (.323 avg, .923 OPS) with 709 runs scored, 178 homers, 690 RBIs and 84 stolen bases. Garciaparra was an All-Star 5 times for the Red Sox and he was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1997. This was a class move by the Red Sox for a very classy player.

34-year old lefty swinging J.D. Drew is a solid player but he is very injury prone. The Red Sox would be ecstatic if he could play in more than 140 games in 2010 but they know that isn’t too realistic. Drew played in 137 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 126 of 452 (.279 avg, .914 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 24 homers and 68 RBIs. Drew made 2 errors in 131 games in RF last season while showing average range. Drew had 5 assists from RF last season showing a decent throwing arm. Drew is good when he plays but the Red Sox made sure that they had a backup plan ready to go for 2010.

26-year old lefty swinging Jeremy Hermida was brought in during the winter in a trade with the Marlins. Hermida played in 129 games for the Marlins last season and he was 111 of 429 (.259 avg, .740 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers, 47 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hermida didn’t make any errors in 81 games in RF for the Marlins last season while showing average range. He also had 3 assists last season for the Marlins as he really improved his defense in 2009. Hermida was once one of the brightest prospects in all of baseball and maybe a change of scenery will jumpstart his career.

30-year old righty swinging Bill Hall will also likely get some P.T. in RF for the Red Sox in 2010. Hall played in 15 error-free games in RF last season while showing out of this world range. He also had 2 assists in RF last season showing that he has the arm to handle the position.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR RF IN 2010: B

The Red Sox signed 37-year old righty swinging Mike Cameron to take over for Jacoby Ellsbury in 2010 in CF with Ellsbury moving to LF. Cameron played in 149 games for the Brewers last season and he was 136 of 544 (.250 avg, .795 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 24 homers, 70 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Cameron had 4 errors in 147 games in CF last season while showing good range. He also had 4 assists from CF last season as he showed a decent throwing arm. What you see is what you get with Cameron as he will likley hit around .250 with 20+ homers while playing solid defense.

26-year old Jacoby Ellsbury will be the backup in CF in case something happens to Cameron. Ellsbury played in 153 games in CF for the Red Sox last season and he made 2 errors while showing below average range. But, he did have 5 assists from CF showing he has a nice throwing arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B

With Mike Cameron on board for the 2010 season the Red Sox have decided to shift 26-year old lefty swinging Jacoby Ellsbury to LF. Ellsbury played in 153 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 188 of 624 (.301 avg, .770 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 8 homers, 60 RBIs and 70 stolen bases. Ellsbury might even steal more bases in 2010 as the Red Sox won’t have as much power in the lineup. Ellsbury should be a fine LF defensively. He played in 153 games in CF for the Red Sox last season and he made 2 errors while showing below average range. But, he did have 5 assists flashing a strong throwing arm.

26-year old lefty swinging Jeremy Hermida is a natural RF but he will likely be the #4 outfielder for the Red Sox in 2010 likely getting some P.T. in LF. Hermida only made 1 error in 51 games in LF last season for the Marlins but he showed poor range.

30-year old righty swinging Bill Hall will also get some P.T. in the outfield in 2010 for the Red Sox. He played in 100 games for the Brewers & Mariners last season in which he was 67 of 334 (.201 avg, .596 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 8 homers, 36 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Hall made 1 error in 22 games in LF last season while showing good range and he also had 1 assist there.

23-year old lefty swinging Josh Reddick is the Red Sox #3 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He played in 27 games for the Red Sox last season and he was 10 of 59 (.169 avg, .549 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Reddick also played in 81 games in AA+AAA ball last season in which he was 80 for 327 (.245 avg, .763 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 13 homers, 35 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Reddick played in 12 error-free games in LF last season while showing good range for the Red Sox.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: A-

The Red Sox have claimed 26-year old righty reliever Casey Fien off waivers. Fien pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 0-1 with a 7.94 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. Fien also pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 2-1 with 14 saves, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Fien only allowed 51 hits in 58 innings in AAA last season in the minors while whiffing 66 batters which is probably what caught the eye of the Red Sox.

UPDATE: The Red Sox tried to sneak Fien back through waivers so that they could send him to the minors but the Blue Jays claimed him.