Red Sox Look for Someone to Play Right Field: A Fan’s Take

While the Boston Red Sox have spent the offseason focused on rebuilding the pitching staff, the team still has to figure out who is going to play in right field when the 2012 season opens this spring.

The two players who held down the position last season have both departed from Boston. J.D. Drew will not return after his contract expired, and has not decided yet whether he will retire. Josh Reddick, who filled in when Drew was injured and showed offensive and defensive promise, was traded to the Oakland A's for closer Andrew Bailey.

The Red Sox missed out on a pair of free agents who might have fit nicely in Fenway Park's treacherous right field. Carlos Beltran signed a two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, and seemed to command a higher salary than the Red Sox were willing to commit. Andruw Jones re-signed with the New York Yankees, and would have been a solid platoon partner for the predominantly left-handed choices Boston currently has.

So where does that leave the Red Sox? Who are the candidates to replace Drew and Reddick in right?

Ryan Kalish

Kalish was impressive in his limited role with the Red Sox in 2010, but suffered a rash of injuries last season. He underwent neck surgery in September and shoulder surgery in November, so will not be available until some point after the opening of the 2012 season.

"You see the opportunity and you wish it could be different," Kalish says of his offseason medical problems. "It's frustrating, but I need to get healthy."It's not the easiest rehab in the world, and we're only a few weeks into it. I'm working to get my range of motion back and will go from there. Nobody has told me a timetable, but I know it will be a while."

Ryan Sweeney

Sweeney came over to the Red Sox as part of the Bailey deal with the A's. Like Kalish, and Reddick before him, Sweeney is a left-handed batter with highly-touted defensive skills. He has shown little power in the majors so far, but the Boston front office hopes he can take advantage of the left field wall with his opposite-field swing. At this point, he's the likely candidate to be the Opening Day starter, and to be a stopgap solution until Kalish is healthy.

Darnell McDonald

As Red Sox fans like me have seen, McDonald has his limitations, and is really best-suited as a fourth outfielder. However, he pounds left-handed pitching in a part-time role, and could serve as an able platoon partner for Sweeney or Kalish. He's not someone you want in the lineup every day, but could help the Red Sox if new manager Bobby Valentine picks the right spots to use him.

Mike Aviles

Aviles made his major league debut in right field last season when the Red Sox were desperate for healthy players. It didn't go well. Aviles is on the roster as an above-average bat compared to ther utility infield options. But the front office never fails to mention his name when discussing right field options for 2012. That's not a notion that will sit well with Red Sox Nation.

More from Yahoo! Contributor Network:
Red Sox already looking ahead to 2013?
Red Sox still need starting pitching