Mike Lowell spoke to the media this weekend about his future as a Boston Red Sox. He said all the right things, but it's pretty clear that he thinks he can still be an effective starter in the majors.

The problem is: He won't be starting here in Boston... or for any other team.

With 30 teams in the major leagues, you'd think a guy like Mike Lowell could find 400-500 at-bats somewhere, but I took a look at every 40-man roster in the league and I don't see a good fit anywhere. Regardless of what Mike thinks, the public opinion seems to be that he is best suited to play 3B/1B/DH off the bench, so let's assume that only AL teams would be interested. Here's a look at the projected players for all the AL teams:

Orioles: Miguel Tejada 3B, Garrett Atkins 1B/3B, Luke Scott DH/OF, Ty Wiggington, 1B/3B/DH

Trading within the division doesn't happen often and the O's are pretty well covered at the corners and at DH. Not much else to say here...

Blue Jays: Edwin Encarnacion 3B, Lyle Overbay 1B, Randy Ruiz DH, Travis Snyder DH/OF

The Jays have a nice young player in Ruiz at DH, but they could use some help at the 1B/3B. Overbay is a lefty and has become quite mediocre since hitting .312 with 22 HR and 92 RBI in 2006. Both he and Encarnacion will hit around .260 with a little pop, but Lowell could help here. Problem is, the Jays are rebuilding and have young players like 1B Brian Dopirak and 3B Mike McCoy that they would prefer to develop.

Yankees: Alex Rodriquez 3B, Mark Teixeira 1B, Nick Johnson DH/1B

The Sox won't send Lowell to the Yankees unless they get Teixeira or Arod in return... moving on.

Rays: Evan Longoria 3B, Carlos Pena 1B, Pat Burrell DH

The Rays are pretty well covered across the board here. The only reason the Sox would call the Rays about a deal is their highly ranked farm system. Unloading Lowell and stealing a nice prospect from a rival would be nice,... but unlikely.

Tigers: Brandon Inge 3B, Miguel Cabrera 1B, Carlos Guillen DH

Inge finally settled into a position last year, playing 161 games at 3B, but neither Inge, Guillen or Cabrera have a set back up in place right now. Lowell could help at all three positions and you know Detroit is all about bargain prices right now... I 'm just not sure they have any prospects worth offering...

Twins: Brendan Harris/Matt Tolbert 3B, Justin Morneau 1B, Jim Thome DH

Harris and Nick Punto give the Twins lots of versatility on the left side of the diamond. Lowell is a better hitter than both, but he might be more helpful sharing time at 1B and DH with the left-handed Thome and Morneau. Both guys would benefit from the occasional day offSox make a trade for C Jose Morales... especially if Joe Mauer stays in Minnesota. and it would make the Twins even more flexible. This may a good fit and I'd love to see the

Royals: Josh Fields 3B, Alex Gordon 3B/DH, Billy Butler 1B, Jose Guillen DH

At first glance, Mike Lowell looks like a nice upgrade over Josh Fields, but Alex Gordon is still just 26 and has loads of potential. Gordon can also DH with Guillen, so I don't see a spot for Lowell in KC unless somebody gets hurt in Spring Training.

White Sox: Mark Teahen 3B/OF, Paul Konerko 1B, Andruw Jones DH, Mark Kotsay 1B/OF

Andruw Jones hasn't logged more than 300 at-bats since 2007, and even then he hit .222 despite his 26 homers. The Chi-Sox are hoping the 33-year old Jones can stay healthy as the DH, but adding Lowell would be a nice saftey net. He could also spell Konerko at first since Kotsay is the only other 1B option, but this seems unlikely.

Indians: Jhonny Peralta 3B, Matt LaPorta/Russell Branyan 1B, Travis Hafner DH

The Indians might not have any superstars at the corners, but they don't really have room for Mike Lowell. Hafner hasn't played well since 2006 and is already sharing time at DH... and the Tribe just added Branyan, presumably to play first, so Cleveland doesn't look like a good fit for Mikey.

Athletics: Kevin Kouzmanoff 3B, Eric Chavez 3B, Daric Barton 1B, Jack Cust DH

Lowell is a better player than Kouzmanoff and his OPS numbers would balance out Cust's 190 Ks from the left side... but the A's also added utility-man Jake Fox to the roster this offseason, so other than sharing time with Cust at DH, Oakland seems out.

Angels: Maicer Izturis 3B, Kendry Morales 1B, Hideki Matsui DH

The left-handed Matsui isn't likely to log 550 at-bats, so the Halos could use Lowell at DH and 3B. Brandon Wood can help at the corners also, and featured 25 HR power in AAA, but he hasn't been able to get things going in the majors. This might be one of the few good fits for Lowell.

Mariners: Chone Figgins 3B, Casey Kotchman 1B, Ken Griffey Jr. DH, Ryan Garko 1B/DH

Lowell would enable to the M's to mix in a right-handed bat with Kotchman and Griffey, but Ryan Garko also fills that role...

Rangers: Michael Young 3B, Chris Davis 1B, Vladimir Guerrero DH

The Red Sox and Rangers had a deal in place earlier this offseason, but Lowell's health became a concern. The plan was to have Lowell spend time at 3B, 1B and possibly DH, but the Rangers have since signed Guerrero as the everyday DH. Getting Mike Lowell for pennies on the dollar might still be of interest to Texas, but the Rangers are pretty well covered with David Murphy and Khali Greene backing up the corners.

UPDATE: MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Greene will not report to Rangers camp this spring and the Rangers are now looking for help in the infield ...

I've looked at the NL teams as well, but without the option to share time at DH, there just aren't many options out there for Lowell.

Having looked at all of this, it's looking more and more like Lowell's best option might be to stay here in Boston and wait for an opening either due to injury or at the All-Star break. The Red Sox have a little wiggle room with the roster: Jed Lowrie could start the year in Pawtucket, making room for Lowell, but the Sox will need to decide if Wakefield or Buchholz will begin the year as a starter if they want to carry the preferred 12 pitchers. If they put Wake in the bullpen as the long man, Boof Bonser would be out of a job, and Brain Shouse would likely earn the final spot as the "lefty-specialist." The Sox could start Wake on the DL, but they won't do that unless he proves that he is not 100% healthy.

Bottom Line: By my count the Angels offer the best solution to this problem. They lost two key players in Figgins and Lackey and adding Lowell as protection at DH and 3B for a measly $3 million would be a smart move. A trade with the the Twins or White Sox might work also...

But the Sox shouldn't feel obligated to trade Lowell for a bucket of balls. Having him share time with David Ortiz at DH could be very exciting and a better opportunity could open up as the season goes along. Only time will tell...

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