Pawtucket close to finalizing roster
With Scott starting in Boston, 25-man squad coming together
PAWTUCKET – The past week or so has featured a steady stream of reassignment notifications by the Red Sox. That can only mean the roster the PawSox will carry into next Thursday’s season opener at Lehigh Valley is coming into sharper view.
For the most part, things appear to be set. The list of “make it or break it” candidates has certainly dwindled down, though it remains unclear what Boston’s course of action is regarding the open slot for a backup infielder.
The final piece to the bullpen was addressed Wednesday as Red Sox manager John Farrell announced that last year’s feel-good story, Robby Scott, would begin the year in the majors. Before Tyler Thornburg’s setback, Scott was ticketed to open the 2017 campaign in Triple-A.
The news of infielder Josh Rutledge joining Thornburg on the disabled list opens the door for either Marco Hernandez or Steve Selsky to join the Red Sox as an extra infielder. Selsky is a newcomer to the organization while Hernandez has spent the last couple of seasons with the PawSox.
Such decisions will ultimately affect the PawSox roster, but here’s an educated guess to how the rest of it will look on Opening Day. Catcher: Blake Swihart, Dan Butler
This is probably the easiest position to figure out. Even if Swihart lit the Grapefruit League world on fire – he was darn close with a .325 batting average in 14 games – the odds were strong that he would open the year with the PawSox. He still had minor-league options, something that neither Sandy Leon nor Christian Vazquez possessed. The other element in play with Swihart is that he’s transitioning back to full-time catching duty after last season’s brief experiment as a left fielder.
Butler is a name that should be very familiar to PawSox fans. Dating back to 2010, he’s appeared in games for Pawtucket in every year except one (2015). Opening the year as the clear-cut No. 2 catcher represents a refreshing change for Butler, who in past years was forced to patiently wait during the season’s first few months before steady playing time emerged.
Infield: Sam Travis (1B), Deven Marrero (SS), Matt Dominguez (3B), Mike Miller (Utility), Jose Rosario (Utility), Mel Olt (Utility)
Back for his second goaround with the PawSox, Travis won’t begin the year on Boston’s 40-man roster. If the 23-year-old picks up where he left off prior to suffering a season-ending ACL injury, he could emerge as a big-league contributor a lot sooner than maybe even Boston’s front office originally believed would be the case.
Marrero is the one true shortstop behind Xander Bogaerts, a fact that would put fans at ease if Marrero didn’t hit .198 in 96 games for the PawSox last season. A slick and dependable fielder, Marrero did make some gains in spring training, hitting .302.
The only other sure starter in the infield is Dominguez, who spent most of last year with Buffalo. The former first-round pick is a career .231 hitter in 362 MLB games.
Miller could be in line to see some time at second should the Red Sox select Hernandez. Miller made hit Red Sox debut last year and helped fill several roles for the PawSox.
Outfield: Rusney Castillo, Allen Craig, Carlos Quentin, Brian Boguesevic, Junior Lake
Castillo and Craig are two guys making a ton of money ($10 million each) to be playing every day in Triple-A, but both had good springs with the Red Sox. If each of them performs near their current paychecks, they could emerge as possible trade chips. On that front, Craig holds more value than Castillo since he’s in the final year of his contract.
The 34-year-old Quentin is looking to make a comeback after not playing in each of the last two seasons. Between 2008 and 2013, the former White Sox and Padres contributor posted a .260/.356/.503 slash line with 136 home runs over 2,638 plate appearances.
Bogusevic and Lake have big-league track records. Lake spent most of last season with Buffalo while Bogusevic played overseas in Japan.
The unknown with this group revolves around Bryce Brentz, who is expected to be designated for assignment because he’s out of options. That means he could be picked up by any team. Brentz has spent parts of the past five seasons with the PawSox.
Starting rotation: Henry Owens, Brian Johnson, Kyle Kendrick, Hector Velazquez
It’s a mix of familiar names (Owens, Johnson) and newcomers (Kendrick, Velazquez). Owens and Johnson didn’t have reassuring springs and were among the first group of players the Red Sox optioned to Triple- A. Both have gone backwards in their development and will need to overcome control issues before showing their worthy of a promotion.
Right now, Kendrick appears to be the first line of defense in the event something happens to a member of Boston’s rotation. The 32year-old opened plenty of eyes this spring after striking out 26 in 29 innings. He last pitched in the majors in 2015.
The signing of the 28year-old Velazquez out of the Mexican League should not be undersold. He doesn’t have a minor-league track record, yet that may work to his advantage if he starts out strong while Owens and Johnson stumble out of the gate.
There’s several reasons why “TBA” hangs next to the fifth spot in the rotation. One candidate, Roenis Elias, is on the mend after suffering an intercostal strain. Eduardo Rodriguez would have likely begun the year in Pawtucket, though David Price’s sore elbow saw the Red Sox do some reshuffling.
Bullpen: Kyle Martin, Noe Ramirez, Chandler Shepherd, Brandon Workman, Edgar Olmos, Marcus Walden, Ben Taylor
The loss of Scott is tough, though this will be a strong unit. Martin, Workman, and Ramirez hold 40-man roster spots, thus giving them a leg up over anyone else.
Workman made three stops last year, his first one back on the mound after missing the entire 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery. One of those stops wasn’t Pawtucket. Ramirez was fine with the PawSox (1.85 ERA in 30 games) but not so with the major league club (6.23 ERA in 14 games).
The hard-throwing Martin was added to the 40-man last winter. Olmos should fill Pawtucket’s need for a lefty while Shepherd has the potential to follow in Scott’s footsteps and emerge as this season’s breakthrough candidate out of the ‘pen. Taylor is another reliever the Red Sox believe has plenty of promise.