No matter where you are right now, if you listen close enough you’ll hear the faint chants of jubilation coming from the Boston, Massachusetts’s area.

BoSox fans your wish has come true: Julio Lugo has officially been designated for assignment, which means he no longer will haunt your baseball dreams.

The Red Sox now have 10 days to either trade Lugo, release him or re-assign him.
The Red Sox have put feelers out for a potential trade partner for Lugo, though they’d likely be on the hook for the most — if not all — of the $13.5 million the shortstop is owed through the end of 2010.

Such a situation would have seemed unthinkable in December 2006, when the Red Sox signed Lugo off the free-agent market for four years at $36 million.

Originally signed to be the club’s leadoff hitter, Lugo struggled early in his first season and never fully rebounded to be the sparkplug the Red Sox remember playing against with the Tampa Bay Rays. Lugo has batted in the bottom portion of the order during most of his time in Boston. But the bigger issue was his defense.

After making 16 errors in the first half of the 2008 season, Lugo tore his left quad and missed the entire second half.

He came to Spring Training this season eager to try to reclaim his job in a position battle with Lowrie. But that plan ended when Lugo, 33, had to undergo right knee surgery in March.

Though Lowrie had to undergo left wrist surgery in April, Lugo couldn’t capitalize on the opening once he returned to the roster on April 27. His range was seemingly limited from his leg woes, and he was supplanted by Green for good in late May.

Playing in 37 games this season, Lugo hit .284 with one homer and eight RBIs. He made seven errors in 97 total chances.

Lugo was brutal from the moment he signed and what made matters worse was that Boston had to hang onto him because of his inflated salary. There’s obviously no guarantee that a free agent signing will pan out and there have been hundreds of FA busts over the years.

But Lugo will definitely go down as one of the worst free agent signings in some time, especially considering that Boston once had Hanley Ramirez in its farm system. Granted, the Red Sox got Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell out of that deal with Florida for Ramirez, but still, Lugo wouldn’t have been signed had Boston stuck with Hanley.