DANIEL NAVA SUPPLIES RED SOX WITH 'SUPER-SUB'

DANIEL NAVA

BILL LANNO
THE RED SOCKS BLOG
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT

Daniel Nava began last season as a bench player for the Boston Red Sox, with a good story about how his perseverance got him to the big leagues. 

Daniel finished 2013 as one of just 12 hitters in the American League to hit over .300. The 'Super Sub' had arrived.

If your looking for one reason Ben Cherington's work was easy at this weeks winter meetings, you only have to look as far as Daniel Nava."He is a popular guy in baseball." Ben Cherington said last week. We assume Ben has been receiving many phone calls these days about Nava. 

Nava has become every managers dream. A switch-hitter who sees a average of 4.1 pitches per plate appearance. John Farrell used him as a key to constructing his lineup daily. Add to this that he made only $ 500,000 last season and isn't eligible for arbitration until after next season, well you can see why Ben's phone has been ringing.

You can all start breathing again - Daniel Nava isn't going anywhere. "He's a key guy, because his value is above his raw offensive numbers, because of what you're saying," Cherington said when asked if having a player so versatile helped in his offseason plans. "John and I both feel he's a very important guy for out team."

Nava's value to the Red Sox cannot be overstated. With Jacoby Ellsbury leaving for the Bronx, Farrell would be comfortable with moving Shane Victorino over to center, because he has Nava.

Daniel Nava isn't buying all the fuss about him. He said last week from his home in California, "I feel like I can do better. I wasn't happy with how things turned out for me defensively. I know it was a step in the right direction, but, still, I held myself to a high standard. From last year it was a easy thing to improve on because the bar was so low. But next year I really want to keep going in that direction of improving, knowing swings, knowing our pitchers. That stuff really helps in terms of getting those extra steps."

Cherington also thinks that Nava could hit leadoff. "We have a number of guys who have a history of getting on base either at the major league level or the minor league level. If that's the number one criteria for that spot, which I believe it is, and John believes it is, I think we have some guys that can handle that, or a combination of guys that can handle that if they need to. The leadoff prototype has on-base and speed and power all combined, and those guys that have all of those things are hard to find. I'm not sure we have one guy that has all those things, or has proven they have all those things at the major league level, but if we're getting on base at the top of the lineup and we do a good enough job building depth in the lineup, then we'll have a chance to score runs."

In keeping with Nava's versatility, we may even see him give Mike Napoli the odd day off at first base. Nava played first last year for over 86 innings and at one point was listed behind Napoli on the 'Depth Chart'.

Nava discussed his first base exploits, "I think I have a lot of work to do personally. They obviously felt comfortable enough to have me out there, which encourages me to give myself a little more credit than I'm willing to give myself. When your only exposed to a limited amount, there's a lot of things that don't happen that over a long haul may expose you more. I personally think I need a lot more experience to get to the level I want to be at. But I understand it was trial by fire, so maybe in spring training I'll get more."

If Nava does start to learn first base he would be no better off than Napoli was last year, never having played the position. But Napoli learned fast and finished the season a 'Gold Glove' caliber first baseman.

Look for Daniel Nava to be a very important component of the 2014 Red Sox.
Not bad for a kid that was all but out of baseball just two years ago.