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2007 The timing of Lugo`s departure from the Devil Rays had been the subject of speculation for more than a year. Given the injury concerns about the entire Dodger infield, going out and getting him was an entirely reasonable move on Ned Colletti`s part, even if he did part with former top prospect Joel Guzman to do it. Playing out of position at second, third, and in the outfield and hampered by an injured finger, Lugo didn`t hit, and he certainly didn`t embrace his utility role. None of that meant much in December, when Boston signed him to a four-year, $36-million deal to be their everyday shortstop. 2006 One of the few examples of an astute pick-up by the Devil Rays. Lugo was signed after the Astros peremptorily released him in reaction to his arrest for perpetrating a misdemeanor assault on his wife. Lugo was later acquitted, and the Rays had gotten a decent player with little effort and no cost. Lugo had by far the best year of his career in 2005, but much of the improvement was fueled by Lugo`s 20-point surge in batting average; his isolated power dropped to .107, a career low. Such increases by 29-year-olds rarely last. Lugo has a steady glove, and if his bat is nothing special, it doesn`t hurt. In short, he`s neutral--a team can easily do worse, or better. 2005 The Rays are expected to go into spring 2005 with three players whose careers have been primarily spent at shortstop: Cantu, Upton, and Lugo. Cantu will almost certainly slide to second base. The more interesting decision is what they will do about Lugo and Upton. Lugo is a solid option at shortstop, but he's not going make All-Star games or lead a team to the playoffs. He is one of Lou Piniella's favorite players, which gives him an edge. Upton may go back to Durham to work on defense; a lineup with both Lugo and Upton in it is also possible. 2003 They’ve never been happy with Lugo’s glovework down in Houston, and his key errors in the 2001 NLDS were the last straw. It’s not often the incumbent outplays the challengers in all phases of the game in spring training and loses his job, but it happened to Lugo last March. He got it back only after Everett couldn’t toe the Mendoza Line. The Astros need to accept Lugo’s shortcomings and recognize he’s their best near-term solution at shortstop. Entering his age 27 season, he could surprise some people this year. 2002 Despite dramatic improvements in Lugo's defense this year, his long-term future isn’t at shortstop. He has a good arm, but he’s never had exceptional footwork, and the Astros have had him play the outfield in spring training in previous seasons. Like Jose Hernandez, there’s a chance that he’s never going to be appreciated for what he is, either in the field or at the plate. 2001 The trade for Adam Everett was a fairly explicit vote-of-no-confidence in Julio Lugo’s defensive ability, since he is clearly a better hitter than Everett. But when Everett showed up in March swinging a wet newspaper, the Astros had little choice but to give Lugo a chance. He did exactly what he needed to do: hit well enough to overshadow his problems in the field. He’s never going to be a great shortstop, but teams need to stop acting like they play on Lake Wobegon and that every shortstop is capable of above-average defense. With Lugo, Everett, Ensberg, Ginter, Spiers, Biggio, and Chris Truby stuffed into three positions, the Astros may be deeper on the infield than they are in the outfield. 2000 While it’s fairly common to see top prospects skip Triple-A on their way to the majors, Lugo is a less-publicized prospect who may still be ready for the major leagues this season. His numbers have improved steadily as he has climbed the ladder, and his ability to add power while making the jump to Double-A was impressive, especially since he suffered a series of annoying injuries during the season. He has great defensive range even though he still makes too many errors; it’s generally easier to teach a prospect to make the routine play than to make the difficult one. I’m in the minority, but I think if the Astros give him a chance to win the shortstop job, he’ll do so and be a contributor in 2000. 1999 The Astros had three fine shortstop prospects - Lugo, Jhonny Perez and Carlos Guillen - which forced Lugo to repeat a level. He had another fine year, and after Guillen was traded Lugo was promoted to help the Zephyrs win the Triple-A World Series. Speed is his game, with 14 triples and 51 stolen bases, but he’s not a weakling and draws a fair number of walks, so he can contribute in several ways. He needs to come on fast this season if he wants to win the coming battle with Perez for the starting job, but he has the edge defensively. 1998 Lugo tends to get lost in the shuffle of the Astros’ various shortstops, but he may be the most complete player of the group, both offensively and defensively. He also hasn’t had the injury problems that Guillen and Perez have endured.
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