A few articles ago, noted columnist / analyst Ken Rosenthal wrote a piece in which he concluded that star Sox slugger Manny Ramirez was just as replaceable as former teammates Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon and Derek Lowe. Whether or not that proves to be true is yet to be seen; every player is technically replaceable because you can just throw a body at the position they vacated, but until said player actually leaves and their production is or is not replaced, you don't really know. Anyway, Rosy's article got us to thinking (we do that from time to time) - Can the Sox truly replace Manny Ramirez's production in the lineup if they let him walk? Basing our options on the assumption that Manny will no longer be in a Red Sox uniform, we'll explore the several scenarios Rosenthal mentions and speculate on a couple more that could theoretically come to fruition.

1) Trade for Matt Holliday or Jason Bay
The first of the possibilities Rosenthal mentions, this seems rather unlikely for several reasons. First, the Rockies and Pirates stand to gain more if they trade their star players mid-season when teams in the midst of playoff chases can command more in return. Second, the Sox are unlikely to trade for big name players when a) they can get Manny for 1 year, b) there are big name free agents available first (more on this later) and c) the Sox don't like giving up promising youngsters for short-term rentals. We could certainly do much worse than Holliday or Bay, but I don' t think either will end up in a Sox uniform anytime soon.

2) Sign Mark Teixeira Next Year; Move Youk to Left
This is the second possibility Rosenthal mentions and it's actually been gathering some steam; I believe I heard Bill Burt mention it on WEEI several days ago. Teixeira is basically just as consistent at the plate as Manny, and even if he wasn't, if you put him between David Ortiz and J.D. Drew or Mike Lowell in a lineup, he'll definitely produce. Plus, you don't lose much defensively at first as Tex is a gold-glove caliber fielder. The big question mark is Youk in left; he played 18 games there in 2006 so it's not totally unfamiliar ground, but it's not ideal given the fact that Youk is a superb corner infielder. Although, they could presumably bump Youk over to third once Lowell's contract runs out if they decided to sign Teixeira long-term. All that being said, it seems unlikely that the Sox would want to solve one problem (not having a left fielder) by creating another one for themselves (moving a first baseman to left field). Plus, Tex' asking price is apparently creeping north of $20 million per year.

3) Go the Free Agent Route but Sign an Actual Left Fielder
Several decent options out there in left that won't take prospects to acquire - Adam Dunn and Raul Ibanez, most notably. Hot-hitting Xavier Nady is arbitration eligible, so he could presumably hit free agency, too. Dunn and Ibanez are less than ideal due to the fact that the middle of the Sox' lineup already has a pair of lefties (Ortiz and Drew), and Nady likely won't enjoy the success he's having this year over the course of several seasons, especially in a city as demanding as Boston. Dunn would be a beast with that short porch in right, but a 3-4-5 of Papi, Dunn and Drew is a situational lefty's dream-come-true. We need a righty in the clean-up spot, and Manny is often referred to as one of the best right-handed hitters of all time...

4) Replace Manny from Within
The Sox don't really have a minor league product ready to step into a starting outfield role. You'd have to think Brandon Moss is the closest, but his offensive production is not enough to replace Manny's. The Sox have some great talent in the minors with Josh Reddick, Ryan Kalish, Che-Hsuan Lin and Jason Place (and I guess they could even consider moving Lars Anderson to left or right), but none of the aforementioned are all that close to being MLB-ready. I doubt Theo et. al. are actually considering this as a real possibility.

Well, I suppose this is the conclusion of this little exercise. As you can see, there are several options out there, which must be reassuring from the front office's standpoint. That being said, I still think Manny will be back next year. I've been incredibly disappointed in him at times this year, but in spite of his many flaws (including sitting out with phantom injuries, shoving senior citizens, and jaywalking in Washington), the Sox seem content to put up with all the "Manny being Manny" episodes as long as he plays 130 or so games and produces at the dish.

If you're not particularly enthused about the prospect of Manny coming back to the Sox, just keep in mind that it could always be worse... we could be relying on some guy named Justin Christian in left.