Rolen On Red Sox' Radar?

In a post to Twitter, Toronto Globe and Mail writer Jeff Blair states that the Red Sox have interest in Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen. The Red Sox already have Mike Lowell at third but there is some doubt if Lowell will be healthy enough to finish the season. Lowell is currently on the disabled list with pain in the hip he had surgery on this winter. Rolen is having a good year at the plate (.320/6/35/.846) and is a seven-time Gold Glove winner. Sox manager is well versed in what Rolen brings to the table from his years managing him with the Phillies in the late '90s. If Lowell's hip will keep him from playing through late October - like it did last year - then it would be a wise move on Theo Epstein's part to go after a proven veteran like Rolen. Rolen would probably only cost the Sox one or two good prospects. Michael Bowden would be a candidate to go to Toronto in a straight up deal for Rolen. Rolen could possibly come to Boston as part of a mega-trade with Roy Halladay, the Blue Jays ace who has been put on the market by Toronto general manager J.P Ricciardi. That deal would most likely include Clay Buchholz (starting for the Sox on Friday in Toronto, hmmmm), Bowden, Lars Anderson and one or two lower level prospects. Imagine a Red Sox team with a rotation of Halladay, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Brad Penny, and Tim Wakefield and a lineup that looks like this: 1. J.D. Drew - RF 2. Dustin Pedroia - 2B 3. Kevin Youkilis - 1B 4. David Ortiz - DH 5. Jason Bay - LF 6. Scott Rolen - 3B 7. Jacoby Ellsbury - CF 8. Jason Varitek - C 9. Nick Green/Jed Lowrie - SS The Sox would also have the best bullpen (Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Daniel Bard, Takashi Saito, Ramon Ramirez, Justin Masterson, and Manny Delcarmen) and bench (Mark Kotsay, Rocco Baldelli, George Kottaras, and Green/Lowrie) in all of baseball. The Halladay/Rolen deal is nice to fantasize over but a move strictly for Rolen - if Lowell's hip isn't healthy - does make a lot of sense for Boston.