Who's on 3rd

It's like the old Abbot and Costello joke, who's on 1st, but now the Sox have their own dilemma: Who's on 3rd?

A quick look at the failed Mike Lowell trade and you might think "Since he didn't get traded, its gotta be Mike." No so fast my friend, there are more questions now that Lowell is back then when we all assumed the trade was a done deal. Just some of the things to consider include Lowell's overall health, how dependable is Papi, Lowell's range and how flip flopping from 1st to 3rd could impact Youk's fielding and hitting. While things seems to very fluid, here are a few potential outcomes of this offseason:

1. 3rd - Lowell
   1st - Youk
   DH - Papi
   
   This is pretty much the way it went last season until Martinez was picked up at the trade deadline. Lowell has his well documented health problems and there is no counting on Papi bouncing back from last season. Still, given all the potential issues, most teams wouldn't mind having this set-up.
   
2. 3rd - Youk
   1st - Kotchman
   DH - Papi/Lowell
   
   I see this as being a more likely scenerio for the season with Lowell rotating into 3rd for a few games and Youk over to 1st for scheduled days off. With the Sox heading toward a pitching and defense oriented roster following the signings of Lackey and Cameron, this would seem to be the favored alignment.
   
3. 3rd - ???
   1st - Youk
   DH - Papi/Lowell
   
   After spending the money to sign both Lackey and Cameron, signing a quality 3rd baseman would seem to be a strech, but it's always a possibility (did you see the Lackey signing coming?).
   
4. 3rd - Youk
   1st - Adrian Gonzalez
   DH - Papi
   
   This would be the prefered scenerio for opening day, but I still see it as a long shot. Theo would need to part with most of the major minor league prospects AND Clay (maybe even Bard too) to make this happen. We all know how much Theo loves the kids, so as much as I want it to, I don't really see this happening unless the asking price on Gonzalez drops.