In five months, Jed Lowrie has gone from an afterthought to a player who has assumed a prominent role in the Red Sox' offseason plans. Where there seemed to be no role for Lowrie on the Sox in early 2010, as a result of is very strong performance over the final months of the season, there is now a wealth of possibilities facing the 26-year-old.

He coulds serve in the infield utility role for which he was slated in spring training, before mono cost him the first half of the season. Lowrie is capable of playing all four infield positions, and the value of his versatility became evident as he filled in for Dustin Pedroia at second and Marco Scutaro at short down the stretch.

In 55 games, the Stanford product hit .287 with a .381 OBP, .526 slugging mark, .907 OPS, nine homers and an equal number of walks (25) and strikeouts. Among all major league middle infielders with at least 100 plate appearances, he ranked third in OPS, behind only Troy Tulowitzki and Robinson Cano, and ahead of Dustin Pedroia.

Lowrie's emergence could permit the Sox to trade Scutaro, thus allowing him to take over as the starting shortstop, a role in which he served for much of 2008 and for which he was slated in 2009 before surgery for a broken wrist derailed his year in April.

Theo Epstein raised the possibility that Lowrie represents an option to play third base should Adrian Beltre depart in free agency. The Sox GM noted that Lowrie seems capable of being a better defender at third than short.

"He's a really good third baseman," Epstein told reporters at the GM meetings. "Really good. I think he's better at third than at second. He played second in college, and watching him in college we thought, 'Hey, that guy can probably play short,' and we think he can. We never really talked to him much about being a third baseman, but the few times he's been over there he's got tremendous range, he looks natural over there. His arm really plays up there. He makes all the plays at the limits of his range at third, diving plays to his left and right, maybe moreso than he does up the middle at short or second. Yeah, I think he's pretty good over there."

Certainly, the combination of the switch-hitting Lowrie and the versatile Kevin Youkilis affords the Sox all kinds of fallback options should Beltre leave, as the Sox could contemplate acquiring a corner infielder (either a first or third baseman) with whom Lowrie could platoon.

(On that front, it is worth noting that Lowrie -- thanks in no small part to the recovery of his wrist -- demonstrated that he could be productive batting left-handed in 2010. Though there was still a noteworthy left/right split, he remained productive against right-handers, hitting .250/.353/.470/.823 with four homers in 100 at-bats while batting left-handed.)

That said, Lowrie -- who actually made his big league debut as a third baseman in 2008 -- suggested that the hot corner is not his position of greatest natural comfort. While he has played more major league games at third (50) than second (33), in addition to having played 98 games at short and seven at first base, he has spent almost all of his 348-game minor league career at short (320 games), and he spent nearly all of his college career at second.

"I'm more comfortable in the middle of the field, just because of the experience that I have at those positions. I've played the majority of my professional career at shortstop. I played three years at second base in college, some second in my pro career – probably 50-50 with second base and third base. I'm certainly more comfortable in the middle," Lowrie said by phone from his home in Arizona. "There is quite a bit of difference in the angles that the ball are hit [to third]. You get balls down the line with a lot more topspin. It really is a matter of getting comfortable over there, getting reps, taking balls off the bat."

To this point, Lowrie has not heard anything from the club about what role might be in store for him in 2011, or whether a move to third base could occur ("Your guess is as good as mine," he mused). His position will not dictate his training regimen this offseason.

Of course, Lowrie is hardly in a position to dictate his position, and for a starting opportunity, he would be unlikely to quibble. That said, he does have a clear view of himself as a player.

"I think I've made this clear and I'll reiterate it again. I don't think I'm a utility player. I believe that I'm an everyday middle infielder," he said. "But for me, moving forward, that's something that is completely out of my control. As much as I would like the opportunity to play everyday, all I can do is continue to get better as a player."

Another thing beyond Lowrie's control is for whom he will be demonstrating his talents. There is once again the possibility that Lowrie could get traded, since he is the kind of asset -- a young, talented, pre-arbitration player who can address a club's needs at multiple positions -- that would appeal to other teams in a deal. Certainly, the rumor mill is nothing new to the 26-year-old, who spent all of the offseason before 2008 as part of a candidate to be dealt for Johan Santana, and whose name once again surfaced as a possibility for multiple clubs (including the Padres and Rangers) this summer.

By now, Lowrie is aware that little good can come of obsessing about the different trade and position possibilities. At the same time, he acknowledges that the conversations are difficult to ignore completely.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say I kept my eye on things. I try not to think about rumors too much because there are so many things out there and so many things said that you can get lost in everything that's said at the hot stove time of year," said Lowrie. "I feel like I've been through it almost every year, whether it be the trade deadline last year, the Johan situation. Everything. I feel like every year I've had some sort of trade rumor kind of hanging over my head. I got a good lesson in that. It's something you learn to deal with and not put too much stock into the rumors."

Whatever happens, it has become clear that Lowrie is a figure of importance to the Sox this offseason. And given where he was a year ago, that is no small accomplishment.

It was, after all, not long ago that some wondered whether Lowrie could ever be a productive player following his wrist surgery in 2009. He has now answered that question (even if some talent evaluators note that he still has yet to prove an ability to stay healthy over a 162 game major league season).

"I was happy that I was able to perform the way I did at the end of the year," said Lowrie. "I've been pleading my case for a long time about what I’m capable of. I never lost faith in that or my abilities. I think it was nice to perform like that, just to show everybody what I'm capable of. But ultimately, I don't go out and play to prove anything to anyone by myself."

Questions about his wrist do not linger over his offseason. Meanwhile, with the mono a thing of the past, he is capable of using the offseason to follow a normal strengthening program and to come back to spring training ready to assume whatever responsibility is waiting for him.

"For the first time really that I can remember, three years, I haven't gone into an offseason with something to get better, something to heal, something to rehab," said Lowrie. "I'm looking forward to this offseason as a good opportunity."