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The outfield situation is about to become very cramped. Some tough decisions are going to have to be made shortly. Marlon Byrd, who was pretty solid, has already been released.

The Sox currently have Podsednik/Nava/Kalish/McDonald on the active roster. Boston also has Ellsbury/Crawford/Ross/Sweeney/Repko currently on the DL.

Crawford is throwing and hitting in the cage, Ells is hitting off a tee. Both those guys will be back in the fold the next couple weeks. Ross has already began his Pawtucket rehab stint, so he should be ready to return within the next couple days. Sweeney just went on the DL yesterday with a foot issue, so as of right now its unknown if he will be ready to rock after the initial 15 days.

Five outfielders is the max to keep on the active roster. This is where the difficult decisions come into play.

I say send Nava/Kalish down to Pawtucket, and release Repko/McDonald.

Podsednik has been nothing short of sensational since he got to town. He is also proven commodity as a solid everday big league outfielder. Pods also has very good speed.

Nava has been terrific since he got called up, so he doesn't deserve a demotion at all. But when expensive marquee players like Ellsbury/Crawford return, its the nature of the beast. If either of Crawford/Ells struggle after returning or prove to not be fully healthy, Nava can easily be called back up. Kalish holds good long term value within the organization, but he just now got called up and is coming off a couple serious injuries himself, so further seasoning in AAA is likley the best course of action for him.

I think the two obvious moves would be releasing both Repko and McDonald as neither guy are very good and hold no trade value. Repko will be cut for sure. McD seems to be well liked in the organization, which is likely the reason the Sox released Byrd over him, even though Marlon clearly outplayed him. Still McD doesn't have any long term value, and is not better option than Podsednik to keep around for a run this season.

Once everybody gets healthy this is how I see the outfield situation shaping up:

LF: Crawford
CF: Ellsbury
RF: Ross/Sweeney platoon
Utility: Podsednik

Pods can play both center and left, so he could back up Crawford and Ells.

The only issue I can see with that OF corps is all the left handed bats in there. Crawford/Ells/Sweeney/Pods are all lefties. Considering that I could see Nava getting the nod over Pods simply because he is a switch hitter. That said, if you keep Nava at the big league level you will have to release somebody else, probably Pods. If you keep Pods you still have Nava around, but if you keep Nava up you will have to lose Pods.

I just think that Pods is too valuable to simply release, he is very solid at the plate, is a threat on the base pads which also increases his value as a pinch runner in late innings, and can play multiple OF positions.

Maybe Cherrington can package either Nava or Kalish with Youk to get a good starting pitcher. That would help in so many ways, including making the OF decisions easier.

I'm with you till the end when you say trade Kalish with Youk. IMO he the Sox right fielder next season if not sooner.

^ Obviously, Kalish is a guy worth keeping around. However, if Boston can manage to grab a legit starting pitcher, I wouldn't hesitate to move Kalish. Solid outfielders are relatively easy to find, this season is proof positive of that.

That said, I sincerely doubt any Youk deal will net a decent starter. Just don't think he has much value around the league. Only way I can see Youk netting something valuable is if a contender loses a right handed corner infielder due to injury and gets antsy for a replacement.

I guess it all depends on who the starter would be to move Kalish. If we are talking King Felix or someone like that then yeah I'll pack Kalish's bags for him.

As for Youk, the Sox are going to get a middle of the road prospect for him or a player that is somewhat useful with a bad contract. Just move him for nothing and get it over with already IMO.

^ I hear ya, I feel the same as to it depending on what pitcher is coming back. I sincerely doubt King Felix is going anywhere, and in the outside chance he does it will take a helluva lot more than Kalish to get him. There is increasing chatter that Philly would consider moving Cole Hamels due to them dropping in the standings and Cole's impending free agency (they have several key free agents to be this summer). I would definintely include Kalish in a package for Hamels, ideally Hamels would sign an extension as a pre-requisite to the potential trade. I would still do the deal without the extension in hand, as I believe Boston would have a pretty good shot at keeping him with all the money coming off the books this summer.

I would not move Kalish for a guy like Ryan Dempster or someone comparable to him. I would move Kalish in a package for Garza though.

As for Youk, I heard a rumor today that the Indians, Pirates, White Sox, DBacks, and Dodgers all have "varying levels of interest" in Youk. With that in mind, I would definitely trade Youk/Nava/B level prospect to Cleveland to re-aquire Justin Masterson. Not sure how attractive that would be for Cleveland though, I assume its not realistic. I don't know what they have in their farm to potentially replace Masterson's spot in the rotation, and am unsure how highly they regard him these days. A deal like that would probably require Boston picking up all of Youk's 2012 remaining salary as well, if it was even kicked around at all.

Just heard that Ross has been activated, with the corresponding move being putting Podsednik on the 15 day DL with a strained groin. Pods becomes the 7th Boston outfielder to go on the DL. Which now shapes up a situation where Crawford/Ells/Sweeney/Pods all look to come off the DL close to the same time. In that case, the impending outfield decisions will likley need to be made as a block instead of spread out over a couple weeks.

I say trade Nava with Youk. His value has never been higher

^ All things considered, thats likely the best course of action to take.

I'm loving Nava right now, but DW might be right. Who knows how long Nava can keep this going and does he revert to that AAAA status player.

Nava just continues to rake. He's hitting .340/.455/.519 in 126 PAs. Since his recall, he has the third best OBP in the majors. For those scoring at home that is good for a 0.974 OPS. This is just silly.

I'm kind of mixed. Say he hits .240/.300/.400 (ie the "real Daniel Nava") his next 125 PAs. That still puts him at a .290/.372/.460 clip.

I'm assuming that is what is going to come from Nava, so why not try to sell high? You have Crawford, Ellsbury, and Sweeney all coming back soon.

Yeah, Nava has been a straight up beast. But, I gotta believe that he will eventually level off and probably even start to struggle a bit. Once Ells/Crawford/Sweeney all come back Nava will barely play, plus Pods is still in the equation as well. Nava doesn't deserve to be benched or demoted at all, but thats just the way that it works.

Moving him now while his value is the highest it ever will be, is definitely the best thing for the organization, its probably also the best thing for Nava as well because when everybody is healthy there really is no spot for him in Boston's outfield. Kalish is also ahead of him in terms of long term options also.

It reamins to be seen if moving Nava by himself or packaging him with Youk or prospects is the best way to go, but trading Nava is very beneficial to the Sox at this point.

The first decision has been made.

Darnell McDonald has been DFA'ed. This was an expected move.

Pods/Sweeney/Crawford/and Ells are all closing in on returns now, more decisons are coming soon.

So the Sox have some decisions to make tonight, tomorrow morning. With Ellsbury back tomorrow. I think you might see Gomez sent down or maybe Lillibridge DFA.

Need to make a move today to get Pedroia back on the roster. I'd like to see Punto get the D'FA what a stupid signing that was for Ben. My main reason is that Bobby can never use him as a pinch hitter again.