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I think Rutledge does have the edge because 1) if he doesn't make the team, he goes backto yhe Angels and 2) if Sandoval struggles, Rutledge, unlike Hernandez and Holt, bats right-handed and might be part of a (ugh) platoon at 3b. Now if Sandoval REALLY struggles and needs to be benched, Hernandez and Holt are both better options than Rutledge. But that decision is unlikely before opening day, unless Sandoval gets injured. Swihart's chances of making the opening day roster rest solely on the health of Vazquez and Leon. The Sox aren't going to release a catcher for no reason, and Swihart will NOT be a reserve outfielder when he could be starting and playing and potentially improving in AAA. I actually doubt he is in anyone's doghouse, because he is something the White Sox could absolutely have used, yet the Red Sox clearly chose to keep him instead of putting him in the Sale deal. (He'd be way more valuable to the White Sox than , say, Basabe. I do think 23 spots are locks and even the pitching staff will be resolved by health. The last spot of Rutledge vs Hernandez probably does give Rutledge the edge for reasons above. And because keeping him on the 25 man gives the Sox control of both players. However they cpuld also work out a trade for Rutledge with the Angels and remive his Rule 5 status. In which case, the last bench spot might not be so obvious. ..

There have been plenty of LF and 3B thst have had worse bats. If Sandoval flops, I like the idea of moving Swihart to 3b...

Exactly. They're playing baseball. It's not like these players are asking for time off to appear in an international rodeo or something. ..

Agreed. I have no problem with players choosing to represent the country that have them the opportunity to become professional players in the first place. While they certainly is an injury risk, that can happen in any game including spring training.

While I agree with your assessment, starting the season in Pawtucket wouldn't change that. He'd probably only spend a couple weeks in Pawtucket before being recalled due to an injury to someone in the bullpen.

Probably not. By the time Smith is healthy, multiple injuries will have sweet in across the staff. The Sox will probably wind up demoting someone like Kyle Martin or Robby Scott to make room for him in Boston. ..

Yes but the whole idea of keeping just the best players is for Little League. Even if Hembree or Abad totally bomb in ST doesn't necessarily mean they get cut. Teams want to control as many players as possible because they know, as we have all seen at some point, that a bad March doesn't always mean that player will have a bad August. ...

Not likely. Im no fan of Abad, but the Sox didn't go to arbitration to keep him as an insurance policy so they could pay him to pitch elsewhere..

1. The sixth infielder will be Rutledge, who seemed like ab odd choice for a Rule 5 pick and was probably chosen fir a reason. Both Marrero and Hernandez have an option. 2. Holt and Young fill the outfield spots. Swihart will go to the minors. Sneaky will either go to Pawtucket or the waiver wire. (Or both at some point.) 3. Abad will make the team if he if healthy. If he was even on the border, he could have been non-tendered. But as the Sox opted to go to arbitration to determine his salary, and because he has no options left, he is absolutely safe for now...

I think so too and I like him as a reliever. But this isn't about hopes; it's about depth. And Barnes is on a very short list of Sox MLB pitchers with an option remaining. And players in his position do get sent to the minors all the time...

Phantom DL is possible. If not, sending Barnes to Pawtucket temporarily would allow the Sox to keep everyone. ..

He might serve as AAA depth. His chances of cracking the opening day roster are not much better than mine...

I think most teams have at least 23 or 24 roster spots figured out (barring injury) before spring training games even begin. And I think this does apply to the Sox. So, before we even see that one player absolutely go off this spring and make a futile case for himself, I think the Sox only have one spot up for a roster battle. In no particular order, I think the most likely candidates to either get demoted or waived are Rodriguez, Barnes and Hembree. With the first two, both do have options left and would not be gone all year. Thoughts?

A great swings is nice, but also heavily dependent on the hitter knowing when to use it. Benintendi does so far appear to have good plate discipline. ...

I'm keep my Benintendi expectations low, because you never know with younger players in their first full season. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Now the rest of the team better come through anyway...

Actually stat guys DO get the value of versatility. When players play good defense in multiple positions, it actually inflates their fWAR values. This is why Ben Zobrist has found himself among the league leaders in fWAR, unless you think he got there by being one of the best players in MLB. ( He didn't.) I have even tried repeatedly (and so far, unsuccessfully) to label the process of inflating fWAR values by playing multiple positions as "Zobristing" and label the players who do it as "Zobristers." Holt is a good role player for we hat he does,but his skillset is a lot more common than you realize, as there are getting to be quite a few players who play any of 6 or 7 positions. Jurickson Profar has done it. Zobrist certainly has. Arizona has taken to using Chris Owings that way. Martin Prado and Omar Infante both did it before settling in to regular positions. Also Brad Miller in Tampa. And these are just off the top of my head. (And Carlos Santana will be really close tjis year, but that's different because he's pretty awful at nearly all of them.) Holt really is a weak infielder defensively and a decent outfielder who tends to get hot the less he plays. Sure other teams (notably the injury-prone Nationals) would have loved to get him. But his value probably peaked after his All Star appearance. He is a good and useful player to have when injuries set in, even mild ones that just require a day off for someone. But the whole idea that he's more valuable to thr Sox is really very silly. Also I think you might be VERY surprised at how many MLB first basemen started playing that position in the majors. Holt isn't even the only one on the Red Sox. In fact, without trying to figure it out, I would say nearly half of the first basemen in MLB started playing the position after getting to the majors. It's probably the only position like that. So please stop with the "you never played the game in high school" condescension (which isn't even true). I could go on with the fallacies behind that insult. Or i could ask just how familiar you are with rest of MLB.

In Price's last non-Sox playoff gsme, he threw six shout out innings before falling apart in the seventh. Are you saying he lost confidence and started choking in thr seventh inning after 6 shut out innings? Seems like his confidence should have been pretty high at that time. Or maybe another season of 200IP plus might have taken its toll...

I do think a lot of Sox fans overvalued Holt. As an infielder, he is very weak up the middle. He's simply not a shortstop, and always seems to be out of position at second base, where he seems clueless on how to take a throw from an outfielder. His 3b defense seems tolerable, and he's actually a surprisingly good defender in the outfield, including in center. He's a good role player to have who makes it easy to carry someone like Young, who is slated for a platoon and would otherwise be a lousy fourth outfielder. But let's not go overboard with him and he isn't someone the Sox need to get into the lineup more often...

ZIPS and Steamer are weak. The WAPM is definitive. (Although sometimes reality is inaccurate.)

At the very least, we know he can't come in 31st....

Why does Price need a sports psychologist when he can be diagnosed for free by plenty of fans who have never met him?

I certainly don't label them chokers. It's a long and grueling season. This thread posed constant reminders that players are "human beings" as a reason to justify mental weaknesses, but no one wants to acknowledge physical issues the same way. Fatigue might be a huge factor. Players get sore and can have a variety of aches and pains from the mere act of playing 150 games over the previous 6 months. Some will get treatment, But some may not. And certainly bring less of a player in October is a potential huge factor. Not to mention, anyone can have a bad four game stretch at any time. It's really a very small sample size. And taking multiple small sample sizes spanning several isn't the same as having one large sample size. In a game of failures like baseball, even across post season samples, very small changes are the difference between being labeled a success and being labeled a failure or a choker. ...

I label them as great players. But the rest of that post sounded really spot on...

I agree Brady is the greatest of all time. Also, so is Belichek

Neither did bringing up high school free throws in argument about whether or not certain hittrrs get better in "clutch" situations. ..