Second baseman Tony Graffanino knows his days with the Red Sox are probably numbered, and he wants to be traded to a team that can offer him more playing time.

01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, February 28, 2006

BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Tony Graffanino is a man without a position to call his own this spring. And he very well could be a man without a Boston Red Sox uniform come the end of spring training.

It's not because the veteran utilityman can't play. It's not because he unwittingly played the role of Bill Buckner last fall, allowing a seemingly harmless ground ball to sneak through his legs in a pivotal moment in Boston's playoff loss to Chicago. It has nothing to do with his attitude.

No, Graffanino can play, as witness his .319 batting average as the starting second baseman for the Red Sox after he was obtained from Kansas City last year on July 19. He was forgiven by the fans for his fielding faux pas by way of a loud ovation when introduced at Boston's home playoff game after his costly error.

And Graffanino, 33, has been nothing but a model and respected citizen of the organization.

Still, there are circumstances, some beyond Graffanino's control, that have set him up as a lame-duck performer in camp at the outset.

For instance, the Sox traded for Mark Loretta to become their everyday second baseman. They fully expected Graffanino to sign elsewhere, so they offered him salary arbitration, which would have provided Boston with a compensatory draft pick from the team signing him.

But with Graffanino designated as a Type A free agent because of his statistics, that would have cost his new team a first-round pick, causing teams to back off on offering him a contract, he said. So Graffanino accepted the arbitration offer, and the Sox had to bring him back in to the fold, settling on a figure of $2.05 million.

So Graffanino is here, sharing time at second base with Loretta and at third with Mike Lowell during the drills. He also half expects to get in some outfield work, as well as some at first base. But he looks around the fields and doesn't see a position for himself.

"It's an awkward situation," said Graffanino, a 10-year veteran. "As a professional, I just have to go about my business and let it play out. I've always said I love being a Red Sox. I'll be sad in my heart if I'm leaving. But as a professional, you want an opportunity to play."

Boston general manager Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona are aware of the strain Graffanino is operating under in camp. As a result, they met with him last week.

"It's an interesting scenario," said Francona yesterday. "He came in last year, played pretty well. He elected to accept arbitration after we traded for Loretta. Theo and I sat down with him rather than let him wonder and told him how he'd be treated.

"To be quite honest, he's in a predicament for playing time," added Francona. "But the way he is, the way he acts, he's a professional and he'll be treated with respect."

That means the Red Sox will look into moving Graffanino.

"Theo was good about that," said Graffanino of Epstein's willingness to try to work a trade.

"The flip side is that he has to do what's best for the ballclub. But he said if there was an opportunity for him to make a move to where I would get the opportunity to play second base, he'd try to do it," said Graffanino.

These days, Graffanino says he has to approach his work in camp as if he's a member of the Red Sox, even though he knows his time here may be limited.

"I'm still going out to get my work in at second base and at third base, because if I stay that would be my role," said Graffanino. "I can't assume something is going to happen. I still consider myself a member of the Red Sox. It's tough (to think about leaving) because of the relationships you have with the other players, and I've enjoyed every minute of playing here."

Well, not quite every minute. There was the ground ball hit by Jose Uribe in the fifth inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the White Sox. It was a potential inning-ending double play ball of the routine, room-service variety with Boston on top, 4-2, at the time.

But Graffanino picked his head up too quickly and the ball scooted into right-center field. And David Wells wasn't able to take Graffanino off the hook.

Wells retired Scott Podsednik on a foul pop to third, but served up a hanging breaking ball that Tadahito Iguchi clubbed over the left-field fence, a three-run blast that gave the White Sox a 5-4 lead. Chicago held on for the 5-4 win and ultimately swept the Red Sox in three games.

Graffanino, though, was shown compassion by the fans during the pregame introductions before Game 3 in Fenway Park.

Now, it's possible the Red Sox will be showing Graffanino the gate before spring training ends, which would be a bad-news, good-news thing for him.

"I don't want to go," said Graffanino, "but as a professional, I want to play second base somewhere every day, and that's not going to happen here. And I want to play."

skrasner@projo.com / (401) 277-7340