Boston Red Sox Position-by-Position Breakdown at 2015 Spring Training
Spring training is now underway for the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida. The Red Sox have 57 players in camp preparing for the 2015 season. In addition to the full 40-man roster, there are also 17 non-roster invitees trying to prove they belong.
While there are not likely to be many significant battles for spots in the starting lineup, the Red Sox's final 25-man roster is still taking shape. Here's a guide to every player participating in Boston's major league spring training, broken down position by position.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics via RedSox.com and contract information via spotrac.com.
Catcher
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Starter: Christian Vazquez. The 24-year-old took over regular catching duties for the Red Sox in late July of last season. As a rookie, Vazquez hit .240 with one home run and 20 RBI in 55 games. While his offense clearly leaves room to be desired, on defense he threw out an astonishing 52 percent (15 of 29) of potential base stealers. By comparison, among ESPN.com's qualified candidates, Brian McCann led MLB last year at 37 percent.
Backup: Ryan Hanigan. In December Boston dealt Will Middlebrooks to the San Diego Padres for Hanigan. The career .256 hitter spent six years as a part-time player with the Cincinnati Reds before joining the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014.
Next in Line: Blake Swihart. MLB.com's Prospect Watch ranks Swihart as the No. 2 catching prospect in baseball, as well as No. 24 overall. Primarily in Double-A last season, the 22-year-old hit .300 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI for the Portland Sea Dogs. Swihart is expected to begin 2015 in Triple-A Pawtucket, but he's just one injury away from getting called up to the majors.
Non-Roster Invitees: Luke Montz, Humberto Quintero, Matt Spring.
First Base and Designated Hitter
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Designated Hitter: David Ortiz. On the official Red Sox roster, the nine-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion is the only player listed under this category.
First Base: Mike Napoli. After slugging 23 homers and driving in 93 runs for Boston in 2013, Napoli managed only 17 home runs and 55 RBI while playing just 119 games last season. Despite a .248 batting average in 2014, Napoli was still able to maintain a stellar .370 on-base percentage.
Backup: Allen Craig. The Red Sox acquired Craig in a trade-deadline deal last summer that sent John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-handed slugger was terrible in his time with Boston, batting just .128 with one home run and two RBI.
However, Craig was an All-Star for the Cardinals the year before, when he hit .315 and drove in 97 runs. He's listed as a right fielder, but given the Red Sox's crowded outfield situation, Craig's best shot to play may be behind Napoli and Ortiz.
Next In Line: Travis Shaw. The 24-year-old lefty split time between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. Pawtucket is his likely landing spot in 2015.
Non-Roster Invitee: Bryan LaHair
Second Base
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Starter: Dustin Pedroia. There's no debate here. The former Rookie of the Year, MVP and four-time All-Star has the position locked down when healthy. And even when he wasn't 100 percent, Pedroia still played despite nagging hand injuries in each of the past two seasons.
Backup: Brock Holt. The ideal all-around utility player, Holt started at every position besides pitcher and catcher for the Red Sox in 2014. He should serve as the backup at third base and shortstop as well.
Next in Line: Sean Coyle. SoxProspects.com lists Coyle as the No. 13 prospect in the organization. He's yet to play above Double-A, although he did win the Eastern League's Player of the Month award last June.
Non-Roster Invitee: Jemile Weeks. Boston received Weeks in a waiver-wire trade with the Baltimore Orioles at the end of August. He appeared in 14 games with the Red Sox last September but would seemingly have to beat out Holt in order to make the big league club this year.
Third Base
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Starter: Pablo Sandoval. The Red Sox invested $95 million in the former World Series MVP this winter. Barring an injury or some sort of catastrophic breakdown, the job is his.
Backup: Holt.
Next in Line: Garin Cecchini. MLB.com's Prospect Watch rates Cecchini as the No. 3 prospect in Boston's farm system. The 24-year-old appeared in 11 games with the Red Sox in 2014, getting eight hits in 31 at-bats. Cecchini spent most of the season in Pawtucket, where he batted .263 with a .341 on-base percentage.
NESN's Ricky Doyle writes:
"Cecchini is positioned to begin the season at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he’ll garner additional seasoning after making his major league debut in 2014. The highly regarded prospect's future remains a mystery, though, as Sandoval signed a five-year, $95 million contract this offseason to essentially become one of Boston’s building blocks down at the hot corner. ...
It was unlikely that Cecchini was going to be the Red Sox's starting third baseman in 2015 — he still needs more time to develop, particularly defensively — but he's now blocked by Sandoval for the foreseeable future. Either a position change or a trade could be in the cards at some point.
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The overabundance of outfielders on the team will make it extremely difficult for Cecchini to snag one of the final 25-man roster spots.
Shortstop
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Starter: Xander Bogaerts. After an inspiring postseason performance during Boston's 2013 World Series run, Bogaerts did not put together the rookie season that many expected of him in 2014. The shortstop struggled at the plate for much of the year, finishing with a .240 batting average and an on-base percentage of just .297. Red Sox fans may forget that Bogaerts is only 22 years old, though, younger than many prospects still trying to break into the bigs for the first time.
Backup: Holt.
Non Roster Invitees: Deven Marrero, Jeff Bianchi. Marrero showed flashes of what he may become in spring training a year ago, earning high praise for his defense from Red Sox manager John Farrell. Via Tim Britton of the Providence Journal, after a March 6, 2014, exhibition, Farrell said:
"My gosh, he put on a display defensively. Range up the middle was outstanding. The double play he was able to turn was probably as acrobatic as anything.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a shortstop that’s going to make better plays than that.
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Marrero's bat is not up to speed with his glove, however; he hit just .210 in 50 games with Pawtucket last season and has a career .690 OPS in the minors.
Outfield
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Starters: Hanley Ramirez, Rusney Castillo, Mookie Betts. The only given is that Ramirez will play left field. Castillo or Betts may win the job in center field, with the other taking right field. Veteran Shane Victorino could land the starting spot in right field as well. Farrell said recently that the 34-year-old Victorino will start if he is healthy.
The Boston Herald's Scott Lauber claims "the center field job is Castillo's to lose." Lauber also share's a quote from Alex Cora, a former Red Sox infielder who managed the winter ball team Castillo played for in Puerto Rico:
"The way (Castillo) talks the game, the way he sees the game, we're not talking about a rookie. He's been on big stages in Cuba. He's 27. He’s not a Yasiel (Puig, the Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder) that he's young and still learning. I don't see the development part of it becoming a problem. This kid is ready to play.
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It's also hard to imagine Betts as the odd man out—he's the ideal candidate to hit leadoff in the batting order.
Backups: Victorino, Daniel Nava, Allen Craig.
Next in Line: Jackie Bradley Jr., Bryce Brentz. Bradley Jr. played 127 games for Boston last year and finished third in the majors with 13 outfield assists. He's the most skilled defensive outfielder the Red Sox have and is among the best in all of baseball. But he batted just .198 in 2014 and there doesn't appear to be a roster spot available for him anymore. If Bradley Jr. isn't traded, he'll most likely be sent down to Triple-A.
Non-Roster Invitee: Quintin Berry. The speedster played 13 games for Boston in 2013. Berry was also on the Red Sox postseason roster that year, going 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts.
Pitchers
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Starters: Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, Joe Kelly, Justin Masterson. Unless something out of the ordinary happens in Florida, the Red Sox rotation is already set. However, the order they will pitch in is anybody's guess. Buchholz and Porcello figure to be No. 1 and No. 2, with the other three rounding out spots 3-5.
Next in Line: Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, Eduardo Rodriguez. The 26-year-old Workman may have missed his window to earn a spot in Boston's rotation. Last year he went just 1-10 with a 5.17 ERA. Barnes made 23 starts for Pawtucket in 2014 and looks to be the most developed of the Red Sox's pitching prospects at this point.
Bullpen: Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, Edward Mujica, Alexi Ogando, Craig Breslow, Anthony Varvaro. Uehara is the closer, but he struggled at the end of last season and will turn 40 years old before Opening Day. Heath Hembree has 107 minor league saves and could get a shot if Uehara falters.
Next in Line: Robbie Ross Jr., Zeke Spruill, Hembree, Edwin Escobar, Tommy Layne, Steven Wright. There's a good chance Boston will chose to carry seven relievers at the expense of one of their backup outfielders. Ross Jr. is a likely candidate as a second lefty along with Breslow.
Non-Roster Invitees: Henry Owens, Brian Johnson, Noe Ramirez, Dana Eveland, Dalier Hinojosa, Felipe Paulino, Keith Couch, Mitchell Boggs, Miguel Clestino. Owens and Johnson are two names to pay attention to. Both left-handed starters, Owens is rated No. 2 on SoxProspects.com, Johnson No. 6. This spring will represent an opportunity for them to get their feet wet against major league hitters.
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