Rovin Romine said:
So who, really, is WMB displacing if he's reinstalled as the regular 3B? Holt?
Exactly. Holt was given the opportunity to play this season and he ran with it. Accordingly, if JF is trying to establish a semblance of meritocracy among the young players, then Holt should get the playing time because WMB has done absolutely nothing since August 2012 to demonstrate that he's more worthy of everyday playing time than Brock Holt. So, WMB gets ABs against LHP and against favorable RHP match ups when Holt spells other players or when he needs a breather. While limited, if WMB uses those favorable match ups to demonstrate he can put together an MLB at-bat and field his position - something he has struggled with both at AAA and MLB since April 2013 - he may get more playing time.
IMO, he's not trying out for the Sox 3B job in 2015. If not Holt, there are numerous free agent options that are available that are better than WMB. What he is doing is auditioning for a job in another city so the Sox can sell him as fodder in a trade.