Red Sox outfield roster crunch

You really don't understand the issue with optioning him? He's an established major league hitter who batted .303 last year with an OBP around .370. In the real world guys like this don't get optioned - nor should they.

If they don't have a need for him they should see what they can get in a deal for him. Odds are the Sox will keep him and deal Carp. The Sox might very well need Nava to man LF in 2015 (or earlier when an injury hits) if Sizemore isn't back beyond 2014.

The reality is if Bradley stays and Sizemore starts with him then Nava is the 5th OF who barely plays, so the guy you described typically isn't in that role either. Also, not to knock him, but just point out reality, Nava has had one good complete major league season. I'm not so sure, I'd be calling him an established major league hitter. It's not a long major league track record. That's not me saying I don't believe in him because I do, but if he's a fifth outfielder who gets 8 plate appearances in a week plus, then optioning is a legit path to take. Unpopular because of his story, but he's a tool in the tool box, like everyone else. Unfortunately for him, he's a limited too with flexibility still.

He does have options, but how long could they bury him at AAA? If Sizemore and Shane are healthy, they will only delay a decision. Of course, I am assuming that Jr. will continue to play well.

Nava would have to go through optional assignment waivers, no? While I understand players are rarely claimed off oaw, it's rare that a 0.370 obp is waived.

I don't see Nava as the 5th OF. I see his as the 4th OF (Gomes would be 5th) and backup 1b/dh. There's a role for Daniel Nava on this team if Grady Sizemore is back to being somewhere near the player he used to be. Given the injury history of Victorino and Sizemore, Nava (against a righty) would be the 1st guy to step in for injuries and Sizemore days off. Gomes, ideally, would only be used if the Sox need a PH against lefties, Sizemore isn't playing and the pitcher is lefty, or Ortiz needs a breather and the pitcher is lefty. Given the injury histories, even as a bench player there should be about 400 PA for Nava.

If he needs to go through optional waivers then that changes things. But I don't know that to be the case.

However, he would be the fifth OF. He's basically a LHH and the guys he'd mostly be spelling are also LHH so Gomes should see more Abs as Grady's off days would be worked around LHP. It's not about who is better between him and Gomes it's about the role.

I think Nava would get much more playing time than the average 5th outfielder. Even if he's platooned with Gomes, Sizemore will still need the occasional day off versus RHP, especially as the season stretches on. Nava would also step in if Victorino needed any time off to rest any lingering injuries or if Bradley needed a day off. I understand the general idea that Nava wouldn't be the starter or even be part of a platoon, and so optioning him wouldn't be a great loss, but I think calling him the 5th outfielder undersells what his role would be.

Re: Optional Assignment Waivers
My understanding is that GMs have a handshake agreement to never claim a player on OAW. Indeed, I can't find a single report of any player ever having been claimed on OAW, and there are multiple reports that make a similar claim (see here or here, for instance). There have been some pretty solid players who have passed through OAW in recent years, including J.A. Happ in 2013 (a player coming off a 1.7 win season) and Daniel Bard in 2012. I don't think it's something that scares the Red Sox, either-- the scenario where Grady Sizemore would have been optioned to the minors to start 2014 would have required that he pass through OAW, for instance, yet that's something that both Farrell and the front office considered and presumably had no problem with. Even in the worst-case scenario (that a rogue team breaks the gentleman's agreement and claims Nava on OAW), the Red Sox can revoke the waivers and keep Nava, so it wouldn't hurt to try. 

I can't see a compelling case for optioning Nava over trading Carp. Here's why:

- Nava can play two outfield positions adequately. Carp can only play one them - the one that Carp, Sizemore, and Nava all ideally belong at - and he plays it terribly.
- Both Nava and Carp provide similar defense at first base.
- Say we trot out an outfield alignment of Sizemore/JBJ/Victorino most days vs. a RHP. There are two guys there who will require more off days than your typical player, plus a youngster who will sit out occasionally. Nava, due to his significantly superior defense over Carp, is the guy should be playing in all of these games. Combine that with opportunities at 1B and DH occasionally, and it won't be like he's suddenly going to go several days without at bats. He could find himself back as an everyday player (vs. RHP) in no time due to all the injury risks.

Carp is essentially a 1B/DH. Gomes isn't really a 4th or 5th outfielder: He should just be looked at as a starting OF vs. lefties, and not someone you worry about fitting in against RHP's. Thus, without Nava, you're relying on Sizemore/JBJ/Victorino against RHP's with the alternatives being two atrocious defenders who can really only play left outside of Yankee Stadium. That is, you're relying on Carp as your guy in the outfield if any of Grady/JBJ/Shanf miss time, and that's just too much time for Carp in the outfield.

Carp provides no service better than Nava other than power. He's the odd man out. And if you're trying to draw any substantive conclusions about Nava's potential as a player going forward based on his start this season, well, don't.

Well, the only argument for optioning Nava over trading Carp is that if you option Nava, you still keep him in the organization, and the Red Sox could call him up if Victorino or Sizemore or anyone else needs a DL stint. If you trade Carp, you're likely not going to get back anything that can help you this season, and while I'm pretty low on Carp in general, he's still the best reserve left-handed bat in the organization by a pretty wide margin and provides depth value that way.

I agree that Carp provides basically nothing that Nava doesn't (if you think Carp's 2013 was repeatable, he'd provide some power and upside, but I tend to think their median offensive projections are pretty similar going forward) while Nava provides a fair bit that Carp does not (superior outfield defense and more defensive versatility). But this early in the season, there's an argument to be made that maximizing depth is important enough that you'd option Nava. I sympathize with rjp's point that if you can stagger Sizemore and Victorino's off days so at least one of them plays every game (and assuming JBJ can play pretty much every day), the worst-case scenario is that you have Carp playing a few games in LF or Gomes playing a few games versus righties, neither of which is that awful a consequence (though both would certainly represent a downgrade from Nava). And if any of the outfielders do need to miss significant time, Nava is just a short car ride away.

(All of the above is assuming, of course, that no other team has made any legitimate trade offers for Carp and they would effectively be forced to give him away for peanuts. But I do think that if there is a legit offer (read: the prospect coming back slots into our top 30-40 or so), I'd prefer to trade Carp.)

EDIT: scooped by okin. Great minds think alike.

ZiPS is predicting that Nava will provide offensive production below league average. The question is, was 2013 a total fluke or did Nava figure something out? If you believe the former, as ZiPS does, then yes, you should be down on Nava.

Counting this year, the sox have 3 years of control over him and a $1.4 mil contract. One would think he is of some significant value after the year he had in 2013 but just the year before Seattle released him. And if he is picked up and used his cost will go up the next 2 years.

Our situation is relatively unique but one injury can change everything. They may still send Bradley down for a while, let's face it, but it would just seem more likely that someone like Carp would be traded. Normally we would keep Carp as we seem to thrive on that type of player, who is in early arbitration, but Bradley is clearly forcing the issue.