Major League Baseball

Red Sox agree to deal with INF Scutaro

Published Dec. 15, 2009 2:16 p.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

The Boston Red Sox have reached a two-year deal with a club option for 2012 with infielder Marco Scutaro. Scutaro, 34, spent the past two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. He hit .282 with 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases last season. A Venezuelan newspaper first reported the agreement Thursday night. AOL Fanhouse was the first U.S. site to report the deal. The Sox had flirted with the idea of moving second baseman Dustin Pedroia to shortstop and signing a free-agent second baseman such as Orlando Hudson or Placido Polanco. Scutaro, however, was their most obvious move. The double-play combination of Pedroia and Scutaro likely will be stronger than any defensive combination that had Pedroia at shortstop. Scutaro, who was sidelined with a heel injury the final two weeks of the season with the Blue Jays, evidently satisfied the Sox's medical concerns. For the Red Sox, the signing of Scutaro could end the team's struggles to settle on a shortstop since trading Nomar Garciaparra in July 2004. The Sox have used a number of shortstops since then — Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, Nick Green, Jed Lowrie. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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