And Jed Lowrie continues to fight through a wrist injury that may have destroyed his career.

That leaves the Red Sox with gaping hole at short stop and limited options to fill it. Marco Scuturo had a career year in Toronto, but do the Sox really want to overpay a 34-year old free agent with a .265 career average? Of course not. Miguel Tejada has had a nice career and the Sox have asked about him in the past, but he made $15M in 2009 and probably won’t settle for less than $10M per year, despite turning 36 in May 2010.

After that, the Free Agent market for short stops is just plain scary. They could dip into the farm system but Ivan Ochoa, Chris Woodward, Agenis Diaz and Yamaico Navarro either aren’t ready or aren’t good enough.

But maybe there’s a rookie short stop in another farm system ready to make the jump to the pros? Here’s a look at a few rookies that the Red Sox might consider trading for:

Tyler Greene, 26, St. Louis Cardinals (Click here for Fangraphs, here for MiLB stats)

Greene actually tallied 108 major league at-bats with St. Louis this season, but was primarily used as a utility man after Julio Lugo took over as the everyday short stop. Lugo will make $9M in 2010 and has an option for 2011, but the Cardinals may still see Greene as the short stop of the future.

Greene showed some pop in 2008 and 2009 while splitting time in Double A and Triple A. He hit 16 homers and drove in 41 in 97 AA games in 2008, but struggled after a promotion to AAA. In 2009, Greene has a solid April (.296 BA, .834 OPS) in AAA, struggled after a call up in May (.246/.692, 92 ML ABs), and finished strong with a .303/.899 second half in AAA. Overall he hit .291 with an .851 OPS, 15 ding dongs, 71 runs, 42 RBI and 31 stolen bases in the minors in 2009. Greene will turn 27 in August 2010 and with Lugo starting at short and Brendan Ryan, Donavan Solano and Brian Barden in the system, they might be willing to look at trade offers.

Hell, maybe the Sox should ask for Solano (22) who hit .317 in 52 games with Memphis and can also play third.

The Cardinals might lose Joel Pineiro in free agency and Mark DeRosa in free agency and John Smoltz is a crap shoot for 2010, so the Cards have needs that the Sox could fill…

Kevin Frandsen, 27, San Francisco Giants (Click here for Fangraphs, here for MiLB stats)

The Giants recently signed Freddy Sanchez to a 2-year extension and with Edgar Renteria signed through 2010 with a 2011 option, Frandsen is stuck in Triple A, where he hit .295 with a .790 OPS while totaling 15 homers, 67 runs and 55 RBI in 2009. Frandsen (27) was in line to take over at second base, but missed all of 2008 with an Achilles tendon injury. In 2009, he played 110 games at short and hit well, but made 19 errors on the year, so he may still need to work on his skills at short.

I’d love to see the Sox re-sign Gonzo, but the Sox need to consider getting more offense from the SS position now that Ortiz and Lowell are declining and Jason Bay remains unsigned. Fardsen and Greene both offer more pop than Gonzalez and they’re younger and cheaper.

The Giants were only seven game behind the Dodgers in the NL West and could be close to making a run at the playoffs with a little more help. The Sox could offer some pitching to compliment Lincecum, Cain and Zito or they could send George Kottaras to San Fran if Bengie Molina leaves via free agency.

Mike McCoy, Colorado Rockies (Click here for Fangraphs, here for MiLB stats)

The Rockies have Troy Tulowitzki locked in a t short through 2014. That’s not good news for McCoy, who came over to the Rockies system in 2008 from Baltimore. McCoy hit .343 in 39 games with the AAA Sky Sox that year and followed that up with a .307 BA and a .805 OPS in 2009. McCoy also tallied 102 runs, 52 RBI and 40 stolen bases in 132 games this season, but only logged five major league ABs after a September call-up.

McCoy doesn’t offer much pop, but he’s been tearing up Triple A for two seasons now and the Rockies have nowhere to out him. He would make a great No. 9 hitter for the Red Sox and might even be a better fit than Ellsbury or the leadoff spot… in time.

The Rockies earned the NL Wild Card spot this season, but were bounced by the Phillies in four games. They were second in the NL behind the Phils in runs scored, but they could use a quality starter or two. The Rox didn’t have a starter with an ERA under 4.00 this season. The Red Sox don’t have a future ace in the system and they wouldn’t trade him for McCoy if they did, but McCoy’s value is high right now and the Sox have more prospects than most to offer up… now might be the best time to get a player they need in exchange for a player that is blocked by one of their future stars.

Bottom Line: I’m not sure any other these guys are better than the guys we have in Pawtucket and Portland, but they are closer to making an impact in the majors than our guys and if Gonzo signs elsewhere, the Sox need to consider all possible options.

What do you guys think?