Four Potential Call-Ups for the Red Sox Once Rosters Expand in September

What’s that? Can you feel it? A slight chill in the air as you’re settling in to watch the Red Sox each night as we move ever closer to playoff baseball? Well, there’s no chill in my part of the country yet, but I can pretend to be in the early stages of a New England fall as I sit in my air-conditioned living room while the sun cooks everything outside that dares to stand still for long enough. Watching these Red Sox play meaningful baseball this far into August is a breath of fresh air and has me thinking about what the roster will look like next month as the team makes its final push for the playoffs.

Although not something designated solely for playoff-bound teams, the September call-ups will be here before we know it, and the team has to make decisions that can help alleviate some burden on the regulars prior to October. While only two players will get the call-up (one position player and one pitcher), there are a handful of them that deserve the honor. Let’s take a look at some of the Red Sox's options and what they could contribute during the stretch run.

Payton Tolle, LHP
Arguably the most exciting name on the list, Tolle could see his number called during September to give the Red Sox another starting arm. This would allow for them to build in an extra day of rest for the top of the rotation to help keep them fresh down the stretch. Tolle features a four pitch mix: a four-seamer that averages 94.2 mph, a slider that averages 85.7 mph, a curveball that averages 82.1 mph, and a cutter that averages 89.9 mph.

Tolle was knocked around in his first appearance with Worcester—he’s currently sporting a flat 9.00 ERA in five innings pitched where he struck out three, walked one, and gave up two home runs. That being said, he should settle down quickly and return to the performance he showcased at Double-A Portland. Tolle has the makings of a front-of-the-rotation, playoff-caliber starter. Bringing him up for a cup of coffee would likely include him starting down the stretch and then moving to the bullpen for the playoffs, where his stuff would play up quite a bit. Tolle would have to be added to the 40-man roster to facilitate a call-up.

David Sandlin, RHP 
Like Tolle, Sandlin landed with the WooSox relatively recently and has had a mixed bag of results. He made one start in his initial debut with the club and has since been moved to the bullpen in preparation for a late season call-up. He pitched well in his one start, going five innings and giving up one run. Since then, he’s been less than stellar out of the bullpen, notching six strikeouts and four walks while allowing a .318 batting average to opposing hitters. His hard-hit percentage is a staggering 47.1%.

That’s a far cry from the pitcher he had been with Portland earlier in the season, but there’s likely a logical explanation for that. As JP Riccardi said recently on an episode of "310 to Left", he believes that the reason for Sandlin’s lack of success in the bullpen is that he’s still adjusting to the role. As a starter, you know when you’re throwing because you’re on a tight schedule. As a reliever, it’s a completely different mentality. Some pitchers are able to flip that switch easily, but others take time to readjust the to the life of a reliever. Sandlin is likely still trying to find his footing in the 'pen, but once that happens, he should be a capable arm for the Sox down the stretch. Like Tolle, he would have to be added to the 40-man roster to be called up.

Nate Eaton, INF/UTL
We now go from young, exciting, electric pitchers to a utility player that has already been with the big league club this season. We all know who Eaton is as a player; he’s not exciting, but he’s very steady. He can shift around the field easily to give regulars a day off throughout September and has a decent enough offensive approach to not be an automatic out at the plate. He’s not going to hit a ton of homers, or any at his current rate, but he showed that he can put the ball in play and utilize the Green Monster to his advantage when the team is playing at home. Eaton isn't a can’t-miss call-up, but he could prove to be a dependable one down the stretch.

David Hamilton, INF/UTL
Now we go from one player we’ve seen on the big league club to one that we’ve probably seen enough of on a big league club, but don’t be shocked if David Hamilton is one of the names called up next month. He will serve no other purpose than a late-inning pinch runner and a cross-your-fingers-and-hope pinch hitter. Hamilton offers nothing besides speed and some defensive versatility to the Red Sox at this point. If he’s called up, he'll be asked to fill a very niche role Even then, I’d trust the bulk of the roster over him, though as someone who could give some infielders a day off in September, his status as an active 40-man roster player could get him some love once again from the front office.

There are other deserving players at Worcester that could get the nod beyond this quartet. I left Kristian Campbell off this list because I’d be shocked if he makes another appearance for the big league club this season. He’s on a tear at Triple-A at the moment, but you’d hate to bring a guy up just for him to fail again before the offseason. The best course of action with Campbell is to let him continue getting reps at first in the minors and then give him an entire offseason to learn the position instead of moving him from spot to spot.

Jhostynxon Garcia isn’t included because he has no actual spot to play for the big league club at the moment. Like Campbell, if he’s going to shift to first base, then he needs an entire offseason to work on it before debuting with the big league club. Both of their bats could be extremely useful, but forcing two rookies without true defensive homes to step in during the heat of the playoff push might be asking just a bit too much.

Regardless, the Red Sox are poised to be a playoff team come October, and picking the right names to call up in September will be crucial to their success for the rest of the season.