Woonsocket's own headed to Fenway, ESPN reports

Rhode Island native Rocco Baldelli appears close to a deal to become the fourth outfielder for the Red Sox, ESPN's Peter Gammons is reporting. Baldelli has just 217 at-bats in the last two seasons thanks to a well-publicized mitochondrial disorder. Before that, his career track mirrored that of players like Ellis Burks, Carlos Beltran and Vernon Wells through their first 400 games or so.

If he can stay healthy -- and that's a huge if -- Baldelli certainly could put up Shane Victorino-type numbers over a full season: A .290 batting average and .350 on-base percentage, a dozen or so home runs, 25 stolen bases.

With the Red Sox, at least this season, he's not going to get enough at-bats to do that. The Red Sox aren't going to overextend him; he'll be a right-handed bat off the bench to spell J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury, most likely. If one of the team's starting outfielders gets hurt, you probably won't see Baldelli become a full-time outfielder unless he's demonstrated that he's fully healthy and that his mitochondrial disorder is completely under control.

If someone gets hurt, you're likely to see someone like Jonathan Van Every called up -- or maybe another veteran signed, given that some older players without contracts might be willing to wait until April or May to see if spots open up. Right now, the Red Sox can't project Baldelli to be a possible everyday player. If he's a two- or three-day-a-week player, though, he could provide an awful lot of right-handed pop off the bench in a lefty-heavy lineup.