Did Red Sox Find 'Trade Chip' In 27-Year-Old Switch-Hitting Utility Player?

When roster decisions happen within the next few days for the Boston Red Sox, there's a player who may not hear his name called who would have the right to be disappointed.

Switch-hitting utility infielder Nick Sogard arrived at Red Sox camp with long odds to make the Opening Day roster. But instead of accepting his likely placement at Triple-A, the 27-year-old showed up to outshine his competition.

Through 42 spring plate appearances, Sogard is slashing .262/.354/.476. Those sorts of offensive contributions from an infielder who could play any position and hit against either lefties or righties is valuable.

Unfortunately, Sogard probably needed to be dominant, not just very good, to make the roster. With the odds still stacked against him making the roster, could the Red Sox look to capitalize on the momentum he's built this spring differently?

On Monday, FanSided's Miles Houston named Sogard as one of the top potential "trade chips" the Red Sox have ahead of the regular season starting next Thursday.

"While his sample size at the MLB level is limited, Sogard has been enjoying an extremely productive spring," Houston wrote.

"However, with Sogard already 27 and having minimal experience in the majors, the Red Sox may opt to hold onto Hamilton instead while cutting bait with Sogard in a trade. Given his great spring training, he could land a job as a backup infielder for a rebuilding team."

Houston makes a good point--Sogard might well be more valuable to another club than he would be as a Triple-A depth piece for Boston. If he's not going to make the roster, then the Red Sox would be foolish not to at least field calls from interested teams. And yet...

How much is a team like the Colorado Rockies or Miami Marlins willing to pay for an infielder who may not may not start for them this season? Unless one of those rebuilding teams sees Sogard as a sustainable piece of the future, he'd really only be regarded as a placeholder.

Stockpiling assets is important, particularly if the Red Sox plan to trade more prospects away at this year's deadline, but it's not so urgent to trade Sogard that they have to accept any offer they can get.