Alex Mayes

Opening Day is here and I've got some questions about each member of the current roster. Plus one bonus question. Opening Day is finally here and the Boston Red Sox seemed primed to take the American League by storm in 2025. What questions remain about the 26 man roster as we head into the season? Catchers Connor Wong: Will the defensive progress shown in spring training carry over to the regular season? There has been an added focus on Wong’s defense coming into the season. So far, it seems to be paying off. When the games matter though, especially in tight situations where he’s anxious or pressing a bit to get a call, we could see him revert to his old defensive habits. Should he be able to keep up the defensive strides he’s made so far, we could be looking at Wong stepping into elite catcher status in 2025. Carlos Narváez: Will he be content remaining a backup throughout an entire season in the big leagues? Honestly, there’s no reason to assume Narváez won’t be okay with playing this season as the backup catcher. He will see spot starts when Wong needs a break or if he develops a relationship with certain members of the starting rotation who prefer throwing to him. When that happens, though, if he shows out on both sides of the ball, there could be some ‘what if’ scenarios running through his head. As it stands, backing up Connor Wong on the team that has been picked by experts to with the American League oennant isn’t a bad spot to be in. Infielders Triston Casas: Can he stay healthy through an entire season without drastically changing his incredibly powerful swing? Maddie Landis did an excellent job with this article a couple of months ago, and it’s going to be interesting to watch as the season unfolds. Casas hasn’t had a stellar spring. He finished spring training with a 91 wRC+, a far cry from his season totals over his career. His approach seems to be the same as before, but there is concern that his rib injury from last year could reappear due to his violent cut. I expect Casas to be his usual slugger self, I even predicted he would hit 40 home runs this season on the lost episode of the Talk Sox Podcast, but he has to make it through the season healthy. Kristian Campbell: Can he take big defensive strides at the major league level? Campbell’s bat started to come around toward the end of spring training, likely solidifying the team’s decision to make him the Opening Day starting second baseman. However, he still leaves a little to be desired on the defensive side of the ball. Throughout spring training he has made some excellent plays, but also shown that he’s still learning the position. He’s more than capable of succeeding defensively, so it's more a matter of how long it takes him. Trevor Story: Will he rest his body after a Boston career plagued by freak injuries to this point? I debated a few different questions for Story, but settled on this one because during interviews, he’s mentioned that he knows he needs to rest for his body to heal so he can play a full season but it’s difficult for him to do it. Story offers a calming presence in the infield and excellent veteran leadership to the young core that seems to be major league ready, so staying on the field is paramount for him this season. Alex Bregman: What if he doesn’t live up to his Gold Glove on defense? I guess this is the million-dollar question right now. Alex Bregman was brought here to play third base and will stay at the position throughout the entire season according to Alex Cora. This decision has likely rubbed the longest-tenured member of the team the wrong way, even if he’s saying all the right things, and he will take some time to adjust to his new role. But what if Bregman doesn’t live up to the hype in Boston, especially on the defensive side of the ball? In fairness, I don’t see this being an issue but it’s something to consider. We sometimes forget that free agents fail to live up to the hype they bring to their new teams. Rafael Devers: Will he continue to put the team first or will the drama from early in camp rear its ugly head again? Devers has said all the right things to the media. Sam Kennedy applauded him for putting the team first in his decision to accept the full-time designated hitter role. There’s speculation he’s understandably still upset about it though. Will his frustration leak into his performance? What if he starts making comments similar to the ones he made early in training camp again? At the end of the day, Devers wants to win championships and will do whatever is asked of him to get that done, but don’t be surprised if there are some signs throughout the season that he’s still not totally over his role changing. Romy Gonzalez: Does he have a place on the roster once Marcelo Mayer is ready to be called up? In all likelihood, Gonzalez will be the person DFA’d when Marcelo Mayer is ready to join the big league club. Gonzalez plays one position that Mayer doesn’t, first base, but the team can adjust to that to make sure another member of the Big Three gets his time in the majors this season. Gonzalez has slowly become someone to rally behind, but his time in Boston is probably fairly limited at this point. David Hamilton: Can a utility infielder lead the team in steals? Absolutely. Hamilton will likely see time at various spots across the infield and will pinch-run and hit late in games. Before he was injured last season, he already had 33 steals. Don’t be shocked to see him be a menace on the basepaths in 2025 as well, likely leading the team in steals. Outfielders Jarren Duran: Can he repeat his MVP-caliber season from 2024? In all likelihood, Duran will put up excellent numbers in 2025. He really seemed to come into his own last year and proved that he should be counted on as a valuable, contributing member of the team for the next couple of years. However, repeating his 2024 season is going to be tough. To start, Cora has already mentioned that Duran won’t be chasing playing all 162 games this year. That should open the door for him to steal more bases because he’s not as focused on keeping his legs from tiring out. I expect the biggest contribution from Duran to be on the defensive side of the ball. Don’t be shocked to see him in the conversation for a Gold Glove at the end of the season. Ceddanne Rafaela: Can he continue to showcase a more patient approach at the plate? Rafaela’s defense gives fans a ton to be excited about. He likely would have been in the Gold Glove conversation last year had he not shifted positions so much, but Cora has said that Rafaela will see most of his time in center field this year. The biggest question coming out of 2024 was if he could figure out the offensive side of the game at the big leagues. So far throughout spring training, that answer seems to be yes. He’s been patient, working counts and drawing walks. In spring training he put up a 146 wRC+. I think it’s a bit lofty to expect him to do that during the season but if he takes even just a small step forward on offense then he suddenly becomes one of the better center fielders in the league. There was debate if he was worth the extension he was given, and he seems set on proving to people that he is. Wilyer Abreu: Is he just a platoon outfielder? I want Abreu to be more than a platoon outfielder, and if the minor leagues weren’t stacked with as much talent as they are, I expect we’d see him get more time against left-handed pitching this season. As things stand though, he’s an excellent defender who struggles too much against lefties to be trusted as an everyday outfielder. Rob Refsnyder: Can the Red Sox justify his position on the roster with Roman Anthony knocking on the door? This question goes hand in hand with Abreu’s a bit, because I actually think to make room for Anthony, Abreu will be traded at some point. For this exercise though, I don’t want to speculate on trades, so the question is can Refsnyder survive Anthony’s call-up? Yes, I think he can. He’s a platoon outfielder, no doubt, but he’s a veteran leader in the clubhouse and can hit left-handed pitching better than pretty much anyone on the team. He’s valuable as a late-game pinch hitter, even if his playing time drops once Anthony is in the big leagues. Starting Pitchers Garrett Crochet: Is the deadline of Opening Day real or will his agent still negotiate during the season? I don’t think the deadline is legit. It feels a lot like a hardball tactic that the Red Sox have dealt with quite a bit in the past. Sam Kennedy cited specific examples in his recent sitdown with "The Fenway Rundown" podcast and I think the belief is that they’ll get a deal worked out at some point this season. If not, they are going to have to overpay even more than they would right now to keep Crochet in Boston long-term. Walker Buehler: Can he build on his 2024 postseason success? It’s not crazy to assume Buehler’s performance in the postseason is the main reason he was given the deal he was given. He’s looking to bet on himself this season and his performance in spring training hopefully bodes well for his time in Boston. If he can continue his spring training success into the regular season, the top two spots in the rotation look like legitimate Cy Young contenders. Tanner Houck: What if 2024 was actually his outlier season? Houck has looked overmatched in spring training. He’s not been great in spring trainings past, except for last year. If 2024 was his outlier season, then expect him to get shuffled down in the rotation as the season goes on. They’ll use extra rest days and spot starts to reorganize the starting rotation and it wouldn’t be shocking to see one of the names below end up starting over him if he can’t figure things out. Richard Fitts: Can he force the Red Sox to keep him in the rotation over more veteran pitchers? Houck was the name that immediately came to mind when I wrote this question. I expect Brayan Bello to take a significant step forward this season, Lucas Giolito has the potential to pitch like he did before the back half of the 2023 season, and Kutter Crawford is dependable as long as he’s on the field. Fitts has been electric in spring training and looks like someone who can force a tough conversation about a more established starter who is underperforming. His talent would be wasted in Triple-A, so if he shows out in first few turns through the rotation, don’t be shocked for him to supplant someone more established. Sean Newcomb: How many times will he travel between Boston and Worcester in 2025? A lot. He’s looked great in camp but undoubtedly will be the first name sent back to Worcester as the rest of the staff gets healthy. Should he have a good showing during his time on the big league roster, expect him to be the first pitcher called up when the need arises. Relief Pitchers Aroldis Chapman: How long will he be the closer in 2025? If we’re lucky, not very long. Chapman was once a dominant closer but those days are behind him. Sure, he’s looked good during the end of spring training and can still hit 100 mph on the radar gun, but he’s not reliable. It won’t take long for him to walk in the winning run with a blown save opportunity, and he’s going to be on an incredibly short leash as the season gets underway. Liam Hendriks: Can he return to form or is he unable to be an effective relief pitcher this season? (After I wrote this article, Hendriks hit the IL, so consider this a bonus question.) Watching Hendriks in spring training has been rough. We all are rooting for the guy and want him to return to form after everything he’s been through, but it’s just not happening so far. He’s made the roster but looks like a guy who could benefit from an extended spring training. I don’t think any of us will feel comfortable watching him jog in from the bullpen until he gets his velocity up and isn’t knocked around as hard as he has been so far. Cooper Criswell: Can he make a case to not be optioned back to Worcester while Hendriks is on the IL? Last season was a pleasant surprise from Criswell. He posted a 4.08 ERA, which is what you’d hope for from a back-of-the-rotation starter. He ended up finishing the season a a bullpen piece and that’s where he will begin this season with Liam Hendriks landing on the IL just a few hours before first pitch. He flashed solid stuff last year and has a pitch mix that should work well out of the bullpen for an extended period of time. Should the IL stay be a long one for Hendriks (and elbow inflammation is rarely a quick trip), Criswell can easily make the case that he should be the man to take over that mid to high-leverage position. Justin Slaten: How long until he takes over as the closer in 2025? My prediction is the beginning of May. I believe Slaten is the prime closer candidate in the bullpen and has the mental fortitude to take over the position. It won’t take long for Chapman’s inability to control his pitches to grow old with Cora and we’ll see Slaten start to take a more prominent position in the closer role. Right now, he’ll be the eighth-inning guy, but that won’t last long. Garrett Whitlock: Will the transition to the bullpen prove to be the thing that propels him to dominance again? Let’s hope so. Whitlock is an incredibly likable guy who has struggled to find his footing after being shuttled between the bullpen and starting rotation. He shined as a high-leverage reliever in 2021 and should do so again in 2025. Justin Wilson: Can he be the go-to left-hander in the bullpen? Right now, yes. As long as Chapman is closing Wilson should be the go-to lefty out of the bullpen, but once the closer role is adjusted, we’ll likely see him come in for specific matchups and be used as someone who takes over when the starter can’t get out of the fifth inning. Brennan Bernardino: Just which version of him will we see in 2025? Another loaded question here in the bullpen. Bernardino struggled mightily last year, especially in the second half of the season. His pitch mix was ineffective, but he’s been working on that with Andrew Bailey, so a return to his 2023 form would be a welcome change. It would likely solidify him as the best left-handed reliever in the bullpen as well. Greg Weissert: Will he have more than a mop-up role this season? Weissart started strong in 2024 then fell apart as the season carried on. He spent some time in Worcester where he seemed to figure things out and had a bit of a resurgence at the end of the season. Currently, he feels like he’s jockeying for the low-leverage innings. If he can excel in that role early on, expect Cora to start using him in higher leverage spots as the bullpen wears down throughout the season. Zack Kelly: Can he stick on the roster over Newcomb and Fitts once the rotation is fully healthy? Out of all the options in the bullpen, I think Kelly is the one most likely to be optioned to Worcester if Cora decides to keep either Fitts or Newcomb. Kelly offered glimpses of what he could be last season but wore down with extended use. He has the stuff to make a play for the closer role, but he will have to prove to be more reliable before that conversation can even begin to happen. It will be incredibly interesting to track these questions as the season unfolds. What questions do you have about the Opening Day roster? Let’s discuss them below! View full article

Masataka Yoshida has seen ample time at DH this spring, but will begin the season in Worcester to rehab his shoulder as he prepares to play the outfield again. Masataka Yoshida hasn't had great results at the plate during spring training, but he’s looked comfortable. His shoulder seems to be feeling well enough for him to make solid contact and put the ball in play. However, after he homered on March 18, it came out that Yoshida would begin the season at Triple-A Worcester. He'll continue a throwing program to rehab his shoulder. Before we dive into what that means, let’s get a clearer picture of what is actually going on with Yoshida’s situation. According to Ian Browne, Yoshida can be placed on a 20-day rehab assignment once he is ready and he would have to consent to being optioned to the minors as per the terms of his contract. This news was a surprising development, considering Yoshida was seeing regular at-bats throughout spring training. Yes, the fact that Rafael Devers seems to be, at least outwardly, okay with moving to DH full-time made Yoshida’s role on the big league club a bit superflous, but many still expected him to break camp on the main roster. The demotion does tell us that Alex Cora was serious when he claimed that Yoshida would get time in the outfield this season. Currently, Yoshida is throwing from 100 feet and ramping up to longer distances. Yoshida's defense graded out terrible in 2023, and when he played just one emergency inning in 2024, the logical assumption was that his days in the outfield were over. Still, Masataka Yoshida will soon be getting outfield reps in real games. What does that mean when he’s finally ready to return to Boston? That’s a bit of a convoluted question. If there is actually a plan for him to receive outfield reps in the majors, whose spot does he take? The Red Sox have three excellent outfield defenders and one more on the way. Jarren Duran is penciled in to start in left field, and you’d rather have his speed and bat in the lineup every day. Yoshida can't play center or right. Roman Anthony showed out in spring training and is expected to get an early season call up as well. Should Yoshida get more looks over him? I think the plan here is to show that Yoshida can indeed play in the outfield in order to rebuild his trade value. If he can play a passable outfield at Worcester, it’s far more likely that another team will be willing to take on at least a small part of his salary. Should he put on a show in Worcester and force his name into the conversation for a promotion, that’s where things get particularly hairy. You wouldn’t let go of Rob Refsnyder, who can play multiple outfield positions and hit left-handed pitching. DFA’ing someone like Romy Gonzalez or David Hamilton doesn’t make any sense either. Yoshida is a better hitter, but he can't do any of the things that make them valuable depth pieces. Yoshida’s 20-day clock won’t start until "he’s ready," and that will be up to the coaching and training staffs to decide. It's a non-issue for the moment, but once that clock starts to tick, decisions will have to be made in short order. I, for one, don’t envy the people who will have to make them. View full article

Sam Kennedy appeared on "The Fenway Rundown" on Monday to give a quick interview before the season gets underway. On Monday, Sam Kennedy appeared in his regular beginning-of-the-season interview with Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo on MassLive.com’s "The Fenway Rundown." They covered a lot of ground in the 27-minute interview, so let’s jump right into some of the quotes that stood out. “Given what a great job our baseball operations group have done in player development; we have guys who are knocking on the door in terms of coming up from the minor league.” We’ll start here because this is a given, considering the current crop of talent in the minor league system. Kristian Campbell already has the Opening Day roster nod, with Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony are primed for a breakout at Triple-A. It wouldn’t be a shock at all to see all of the Big Three in Boston sooner rather than later this season. The pitching depth at the minor league level has grown over the last couple of seasons, and there are younger members of the team at the lower level who seem to be on the cusp of their own breakout seasons. “I think we have had a reputation here over the last couple of decades for being an organization that needs to be held accountable to put a team on the field that can play in October. And that’s where we feel we are today. Again, it means nothing until we go out and do it, but that’s the expectation.” I like hearing Kennedy say that the way to prove the organization is headed in the right direction is to play baseball in October. I've been saying this for quite some time as we've reacted and overreacted to various roster moves. On paper, this should be one of the best teams in the American League, if not the best. Failure to live up to that hype after all the moves could mean sweeping changes at multiple levels of the organization. This fan base has been begging for meaningful baseball and it finally feels like we’re going to get that in 2025. “The best organizations in baseball that I’ve observed from my time in the game going to the early 1990s is when you have that stability in baseball…when you have a great working relationship between the general manager and the manager…it feels great that we’re hopefully marching towards some long-term stability in baseball operations.” After the turnover in the president of baseball operations role in Boston, it’s nice to hear Kennedy say that there is some stability in the upper levels of the organization. Yes, the audit that Craig Breslow started when he was hired has been completed and people have been reassigned or let go, but having cohesion between the General Manager/POBO, the team manager, and the ownership group is crucial to success on the field. “Look, I think Raffy did exactly what we would have expected and what superstar players do. He’s putting winning and the team above all else. It doesn’t mean he is going to agree with every decision. Doesn’t mean he’s not one of the more competitive people on the planet…this guy wants to win championships and he’s a championship-caliber player…he ultimately has put the team above himself and his own personal situation, and we expect that he’ll continue to do that.” It took a while to get to the Rafael Devers situation but I again think that Kennedy hit the nail on the head here. Devers put the team’s needs above his personal wants and decided to swap positions to designated hitter to accommodate Alex Bregman and his Gold Glove defense at third. Devers is a competitor and likely wants to prove the doubters wrong when it comes to his ability to play third base but at the end of the day, he needs to do what is asked of him, even if he disagrees with it at times. “We’re really thrilled to have Garrett [Crochet] anchor our rotation in 2025. We will keep the conversations around an extension or contract or any of that in-house and private. I will say from talking to Garrett, his wife Rachel, being around them, seeing their reaction to coming to Boston for our FanFest, seeing them down in spring training, this would be a great place for him for the long term. Hopefully, he feels that way as well…We have to be concerned about everything, including the factors you point to [getting closer to free agency, the top five prospects dealt for two years of control] but I think these conversations in my 24 years here have taken all forms…I remember getting a deal done with Dustin Pedroia at the All-Star break. I was talking to Theo Epstein about a deal that got done, I think, in April with Clay Bucholz, even though there had been discussions about not continuing conversations. I seem to remember a manager of ours more recently signing a contract extension in the middle of the season, even though he said he wasn’t going to. So you just don’t know where these things are going to go.” I combined two sets of quotes for this one because it all centers around Garrett Crochet, his extension, and the deadline for talks he recently set. I believe that an extension with Crochet will get done at some point during the season, with a small possibility that it gets completed before first pitch on Thursday. Setting a deadline of Opening Day to end discussions seems more like a hardball tactic than anything else. As Kennedy pointed out, there have been numerous situations over previous seasons where players and managers have said they didn’t want to talk extension only for their agent to continue talking to the team and getting a deal worked out. The Red Sox would be foolish to trade for Crochet without getting him extended, especially considering what they gave up to get him. “Without getting into specifics, extending our own players is definitely a priority if at all possible. The hallmark of a great Red Sox team, in our experience, is one that is full of homegrown guys all over the diamond, full of international signees, and full of free agents that come in from other places. But we absolutely have to have that core.” This came after Kennedy declined to speak to specifics about extensions with players. You’d have to assume the thought here is to extend the Big Three fairly quickly if given the chance. There are other top contributors who could qualify for this that are currently on the roster — Tanner Houck, Connor Wong, Triston Casas — but the ship seems to have sailed on a Casas extension, and you would think they would have locked Houck up immediately after the 2024 season if they were going to. Wong is intriguing because if his defensive adjustments stick, then he is likely in the elite catcher status for 2025 and it would be smart to get him under contract as the catching position as a whole seems to be on a downhill slide. “I can tell you that they [the new City Connect uniforms] will be controversial. And I think you’re on the right track in terms of the color scheme that you mentioned [green]…I will say, though, nothing can be more controversial than bright yellow…I always have to remind people like my dad and others, you know, these uniforms are not for you. They are for the players and for that next generation of fans…I think there might be a theme with a certain wall in left field.” Outside of the Crochet extension talks, this was the part of the podcast I was most excited to hear. I’m a jersey guy, always have been. I’m so excited for a green City Connect jersey this season and I love that the yellows are part of the home rotation moving forward. I agree with Kennedy that the City Connects aren’t for everyone, but the fact that the Red Sox seem to be pretty bold with their design choices show that they are really trying to get the next generation of baseball fans interested in the team. A brand new City Connect colorway is likely to be another big step in the right direction. Sam Kennedy was more guarded in this interview than he had been in previous appearances on "The Fenway Rundown," but for good reason. Sometimes, those passing comments have gotten him in hot water with fans. It’s refreshing to hear that the front office thinks this team is built to play October baseball, and we can only hope that the Red Sox will live up to that hype. View full article

We already know that Kristian Campbell is going to break camp with the big league club, but when should we expect the other members of the Big Three to make their Red Sox debut? With Kristian Campbell making the Opening Day roster, the first member of the Big Three is arriving in Boston. Campbell came into camp with a shot at second base, and even after a slow start has won the starting job over David Hamilton and Vaughn Grissom. We'll have more about Campbell over the coming days, but there’s a discussion to be had about the remaining members of the Big Three. Both Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer excelled during spring training and are making the trip to Mexico with the bulk of the big league club. There’s obviously belief within the organization that both Anthony and Mayer are close to ready for their own big league debuts. We can only speculate as to when those call-ups will happen, but I'll lay out a few scenarios in which we could see Anthony and Mayer called up to Boston sooner rather than later. Scenario 1: Roman Anthony Forces Their Hand I think this is by far the most likely scenario involving an early call-up for Anthony. He ran a 103 wRC+ during spring training, and that's not the lights-out success some were expecting from him. However, he dealt with the mysterious stomach bug that plagued the camp for the bulk of spring training and is still working his way back to form. Once the season begins and he is starting in center in Worcester, we’ll see the old Anthony come screaming back into the spotlight. When, not if, he rakes at Triple-A, the Red Sox will have a huge decision to make, specifically involving Anthony and Wilyer Abreu. Yes, Wilyer is a Gold Glove-winning right fielder, but he’s a platoon outfielder. Last year in the minor leagues, Anthony slashed .347/.480/.520 against right-handed pitching and .333/.410/.515 against left-handed pitching. He can hit everybody. Once he gets into major league games, he will do the same in Boston. Scenario 2: Trevor Story Gets Injured I’ll start this one by saying I hope Trevor Story stays healthy and I want him to succeed. However, if recent history is any indication, then we need to be planning for him to spend some amount of time on the injured list. Hamilton and Grissom that can handle shortstop in Story's absence, but neither of those options is particularly appealing. Enter Mayer, who has looked like a big-league shortstop during spring training. He’s proven that his high draft spot was deserved, but as we found out on Sunday, he will begin the season in Worcester. This makes a lot of sense, as outside of spring training, he has seen exactly zero pitches above Double-A. It’s likely that if he started the season in Boston, he would adapt and play well, but there’s no reason to rush him to the big league club until an injury makes it a necessity. Let him hone his offensive abilities under less pressure and bring him up when the team needs him. Scenario 3: Alex Bregman Goes Down Once again, I hope this doesn't happen, but with Rafael Devers seeing no time at third during spring training and beginning the season as the full-time DH, it's hard not to assume his days at third base are over. Sure, he could easily fill in if Alex Bregman were to get injured, but I think it’s far more likely that the team would keep Devers at DH and call Mayer up to fill that void. Mayer saw a bit of time at third during spring training and has been working out there to add some positional versatility to his game. If Devers is raking at DH and feels more confident becoming the next David Ortiz or J.D. Martinez by being a pure offensive weapon, then calling Mayer up to play third would make sense. Scenario 4: Wilyer Abreu Falls Flat Abreu spent the bulk of spring training recovering from a gastrointestinal virus and lost quite a bit of weight and muscle. While he has looked fine in limited action, we saw how much Grissom struggled in the same situation last year. Once the season begins, putting on that kind of weight and maintaining it will be incredibly difficult. It stands to reason that Abreu will be focusing on his baseball skills while trying to add that weight back. The weight loss likely will impact his power at the plate, which could cause the Red Sox to pivot to Anthony quicker than they anticipated. Should Abreu prove to be a liability, the front office will likely look to the top prospect in baseball to take his spot while he tries to figure things out. There are far more scenarios that could see either Anthony or Mayer getting the call, but these four are the four most likely in my opinion. While some of them come with injury woes, seeing the entire Big Three in Boston during the 2025 season is a real possibility. The Red Sox have drafted and developed well over the last few seasons, and the fan base finally has a young core to be excited about. It starts with Campbell making the Opening Day roster, but don’t be shocked to see his highly-touted teammates join him in Boston sooner rather than later. View full article

Living up to the hype of being traded for a future Cy Young winner has likely placed a ton of pressure on Vaughn Grissom. Maybe he already needs a change of scenery to get back to being the player he wants to be. Bleacher Report recently listed Vaughn Grissom as a prime candidate for a change of scenery. Honestly, they probably aren’t wrong. Grissom hasn’t lived up to the hopes the Red Sox front office put in him with they traded Chris Sale for him before the 2024 season. Grissom has looked overmatched at points, he’s struggled to stay healthy, and so far this spring he’s hitting a putrid .188. I wrote earlier about a potential budding competition for second base between Grissom and David Hamilton but since then, the Red Sox have featured Kristian Campbell almost exclusively at second, so it appears as if the competition is actually between Hamilton and Campbell. Where does this leave Grissom now, and how likely is it for a change of scenery during the 2025 season? Both of those are fairly loaded questions, and the likely answer leaves the front office looking a bit foolish. I’m not questioning the Chris Sale trade. I firmly believe had he stayed in Boston that we wouldn’t have gotten the same season the Atlanta Braves did out of him. That being said, trading him for Grissom is major misstep Craig Breslow and company. In their defense, they likely had no idea Campbell would burst onto the scene in such a dramatic way in 2024, but trading someone like Sale for a quad-A player who will likely only see time in Boston during the 2025 season if several people get injured is the biggest black eye for Breslow so far. As for a change of scenery, I suppose it’s possible but it’s going to take Breslow admitting he made a mistake with the original trade and selling Grissom for pennies on the dollar as part of a larger trade package. You’re not going to get any team to trade for Grissom as he currently stands. If he shows out in Worcester to begin the season, his value increases some, but other teams are going to be well aware of his shortcomings. Grissom appeared for a time to be the heir apparent to Dansby Swanson in Atlanta, so the Red Sox are now the second team to decide against him. You could see a team that's out of contention and looking to rebuild take a chance on him but a lot of those programs already have young shortstops and second basemen that profile to be more impactful than Grissom has been. Unfortunately for Grissom, the Red Sox are much stronger up the middle on defense than they have been in previous years, and he’s failed to live up to the expectations of the trade that brought him to Boston. The early returns during spring training have been less than ideal. In the span of a year, Grissom has gone from being traded for the future Cy Young winner to an afterthought on a team focusing on a youth movement. He still has time to turn it around, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that his next opportunity will come somewhere other than Boston. View full article

Center should be locked up for years to come, but in the event of injuries, the depth gets surprisingly thin quickly. Alex Cora told the media early in the offseason that Ceddanne Rafaela would see most of his time at center field. That is a very good thing. It locks up a key position and hopefully brings another Gold Glove to the Boston outfield in 2025. Making sure Rafaela plays his main position will be a major key to success this season for the Red Sox. Red Sox CF at a Glance Starter: Ceddanne Rafaela Backup: Jarren Duran Depth: Wilyer Abreu, Rob Refsnyder, Trayce Thompson (NRI) Prospects: Roman Anthony, Jhostynxon Garcia, Allan Castro, Miguel Bleis Red Sox CF fWAR Ranking Last Year: 13 out of 30 The Good Center field defense should be a bright spot for the Red Sox this season. Ceddanne Rafaela has proven to play Gold Glove, possibly even Platinum Glove-caliber defense when he’s roaming center, and all indications are that he will continue to do so in 2025. The biggest difference seems to be coming on the offensive side of the baseball for Rafaela. He looks far more patient and has unlocked a bit more power while hitting to all parts of the field. If Rafaela were to go down with injury, Jarren Duran is a more-than-capable center fielder in his own right. Both players are speed demons and have flashed the ability to make highlight-reel plays on a regular basis. The Bad The depth behind Duran is lacking. Roman Anthony has played center coming up through the system, but he profiles as a corner outfielder in Boston instead of a true center fielder. He could play the position in a pinch, and the same can be said for Rob Refsnyder and Wilyer Abreu, but you don’t want to count on the three of them manning the position for any significant amount of time. Trayce Thompson isn’t guaranteed to break camp with the big club, and while he would make a fine bench piece in Boston, keeping him on the roster over more infield depth pieces would involve some tough conversations. Garcia and Bleis, are at least a season away from being considered for promotion to Boston. The Bottom Line Between Rafaela and Duran, center field defense in Boston should be locked down for quite a while. There’s depth in the system but outside of Anthony, it is at least a year away from being considered major-league ready. If Rafaela struggles and Anthony proves himself ready for a promotion, center field could look very different at the end of the season. Right now, the Red Sox are hoping that their trio of outfielders are all in contention for Gold Gloves — incredibly, not an outlandish notion — and that would mean that those of us who long for the days of The Killer Bs in the outfield can finally start to feel confident that the outfield in Boston is set for the foreseeable future. View full article

The designated hitter position has been widely debated all offseason. Clarity has been slow in coming. Looking at the designated hitter options for the 2025 Red Sox reminds me of a classic choose-your-own-adventure book. For Masataka Yoshida, turn to page four. For Rafael Devers, turn to page eight. At this point in spring training, there’s not a really clear indicator of which way the coaching staff is leaning. Devers has yet to see any game action and a number of players have rotated through the position so far. If Devers does make his spring training debut on Saturday as expected, the designated hitter conversation is likely to get much more complicated. Red Sox DH at a Glance Starter: Masataka Yoshida Backup: Rafael Devers Depth: Trevor Story, Triston Casas, Alex Bregman, Wilyer Abreu, Connor Wong Prospects: Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Blaze Jordan Red Sox 1B fWAR Ranking Last Year: 15 out of 30 The Good The best part of the DH spot for the Red Sox is that both the starter and backup (Yoshida and Devers, whichever order they end up in) are pretty talented. Yoshida started to show some pop when he came back from his extended stay on the injured list in 2024 and Devers is one of the best left-handed hitters in the league. Either option here likely comes with solid home run totals and quite a few RBIs. Alex Cora has not been shy about rotating position players through the DH spot after the departure of JD Martinez and we should expect to see a bit more of that in 2025. If Yoshida and Devers both stay healthy, though, they will be the main two names penciled into that role each game. The Bad The bad isn’t necessarily a player issue. As outlined above, there are quite a few solid options to rotate through the position. The real ‘bad’ here is that as of right now, we don’t have an answer as to who is playing where. So far, we assume mostly due to injury, Alex Bregman has been playing third exclusively. It’s not difficult to imagine that Devers wants to get some work at third during spring training, but it’s far more likely his spring training debut has him at DH; you know, the spot he said he didn’t want to switch to at the start of camp. Now, I’m still of the mindset that the entire situation was overblown and Devers would accept a position change if Cora approached him and they had a discussion about it. As it currently stands though, Yoshida will slot into the Opening Day lineup as the DH. Even if the plan is to get Yoshida reps in the outfield, which it shouldn’t be, there’s still a ton of uncertainty as to which player is going to man which position for the bulk of the season. The Bottom Line We’re entering the back half of spring training with more questions than answers when it comes to the designated hitter position. Luckily, the Red Sox have two players who can step into the role and be incredibly successful, even if Yoshida’s track record in the majors has been lackluster so far. He seems to be following the path that a lot of players from Japan have followed, their first couple of years in the majors aren’t anything spectacular but their third season is where they start to put everything together. Fingers crossed that Yoshida puts everything together and the Red Sox have the very good problem of too many strong DH candidates throughout the entire season. View full article

The Red Sox have, potentially, one of the best offensive first basemen in the league, but the depth behind him is sorely lacking. Triston Casas is primed for a breakout year in 2025 if he can stay healthy. He was robbed of that opportunity last year by the rib cartilage injury that sidelined him for the bulk of the season. The other effect of that injury was to showcase just how thin the Red Sox are at the first base position. Dom Smith filled in as best he could and Romy Gonzalez rotated in from time to time, but the lack of Casas's bat opened up a giant hole in both the infield defense and the starting lineup. Let’s take a look at the state of the position as we head into the 2025 season. Red Sox First Basemen at a Glance Starter: Triston Casas Backup: Romy Gonzalez Depth: Blake Sabol, Abraham Toro (NRI) Prospects: Alex Binelas, Blaze Jordan, Nathan Hickey Red Sox 1B fWAR Ranking Last Year: 23 out of 30 The Good Triston Casas being healthy and having the chance to play an entire season is a really big "good" for the Red Sox. He has 40-homer potential and should be a force in the middle of the lineup. He’s not the best defensive first baseman, but he’s not necessarily a liability either. In limited action last season, Casas slashed .241/.337/.462 with 13 home runs for a 119 wRC+. While that's not quite where you’d hope it would be, Casas gives you the standard power hitter outcomes, but he has a solid command of the strike zone so he walks more than the average hitter. In 2023, he ran a .367 on-base percenrage, good for sixth in the AL, whils his .857 ranked fifth. When Casas is healthy, he’s an on-base machine. A healthy Triston Casas should help propel the Red Sox to a playoff spot this season. The Bad The depth at first base is nonexistent again. Romy Gonzalez is a fine utility infielder, and he can play for brief spells at first, but if something were to happen to Casas you wouldn’t feel comfortable running him out to first every game. Outside of Gonzalez, Abraham Toro could play first a bit should he stick around past spring training. Blake Sabol was brought in as a catcher, but that skillset could transition to first if absolutely necessary. If we’re ever talking about Binelas or Jordan at first this season, things have gone horribly wrong. That’s not necessarily a knock on either of them; both could be major league contributors one day, but they don’t appear to be close to ready for the majors. The Bottom Line First base is about as top-heavy as you can get. After Casas there is one major league-ready player to step into his role and it’s not someone that you feel overly confident about for a long stretch. Should the injury bug bite Casas or Gonzalez during the season, the Red Sox may be forced to overextend for a trade or an unsigned free agent like Anthony Rizzo. Then again, Rafael Devers might just be in need of a defensive position. View full article

Garrett Crochet has set a deadline to get an extension done. The Red Sox should make sure they meet it. Last week, Garrett Crochet sat down with Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Naturally, the topic of a contract extension with the Red Sox came up. There has been hope amongst the fan base that the front office would lock Crochet into a long-term extension at some point during 2025, but Crochet has now officially set a hard deadline for those negotiations: the beginning of the season. “For me personally, once the season starts, I would like for whatever conversations are currently being had to be placed on the back burner until the following offseason,” Crochet said. Crochet had also told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo saying that he wouldn’t mind playing out 2025 before signing an extension: “I think that the long-term security is definitely something attractive. As players, we like to look out for our family first. But with last year being my first taste of starting, part of me also wants to see what I could do with the full season of innings workload.” This mentality makes sense. If Crochet becomes the Cy Young-caliber pitcher that so many expect him to be, signing a deal before the 2025 season likely leaves a lot of money on the table. On the other hand, if Crochet doesn’t live up to the hype (or, more likely, gets injured again), his market will plummet he will end up signing a deal worth far less than he would have had before the season gets going. The Red Sox hope that rather than betting on himself, Crochet will prefer the security of a team-friendly extension. The question is: Should the Red Sox throw a ton of money at a pitcher who has only thrown 146 big-league innings? The answer is: Absolutely. The Red Sox traded for Crochet to anchor their rotation. They gave up two top-50 prospects, Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery, to bring him into the fold. Extending him for at least the next five years is the only available option. You can’t give up such valuable prospects for a two-year rental. The possibility of an extension was part of the reason the price was so high in the first place. If the Red Sox hadn't thought that Crochet would turn in an ace-caliber performance in 2025, they wouldn't have made the deal. And if they believe that, then they almost certainly believe that his asking price will be much higher after the season than before it. Further, Crochet has done nothing to dissuade them so far, making three scoreless starts, going 6 1/3 innings and striking out an absurd 50% of the batters he's faced. The Red Sox will pay Crochet $3.8 million for the 2025 season, just shy of $1 million over his expected arbitration salary. They likely overpaid both to keep him happy and to signal to him that they are serious about keeping him around long-term and will pay the money necessary to do so. Crochet is only 25 years old. He’s just now entering the prime of his career. He projects to be your playoff starter caliber starter for the next handful of years. Why not build around a core of Crochet, Tanner Houck, and Brayan Bello? The Red Sox have gone for it in a sense this offseason. They signed several solid players and a genuine star in Alex Bregman, but nearly everyone is on a one-year deal, and Bregman can opt out after this season or the next. Clearly, the front office is determined to avoid long-term contracts that could weigh them down in the future. Even so, Crochet is young and appears set to be one of the game's great pitchers. Despite the injury risk, it's hard to find a surer thing these days. The front office proved that it is willing to spend, but keeping Crochet could give the young core enough time to blossom into a World Series winner. View full article

As spring training gets underway, we thought another fresh Opening Day roster projection was in order. Almost exactly two months ago, I wrote the first Opening Day Roster Projection here on Talk Sox and people…. I had some thoughts about a certain lefty killer I left off the 26-man roster. Have I come to my senses? Do I actually hate Rob Refsynder? Will I accidentally list Justin Slaten twice?! Let’s find out together. Lineup Jarren Duran, LF Rafael Devers, DH Alex Bregman, 3B Triston Casas, 1B Trevor Story, SS Roman Anthony, RF Connor Wong, C Ceddanne Rafaela, CF David Hamilton, 2B I’ve swapped one rookie for another in this project. Kristian Campbell doesn’t seem to be the frontrunner for the starting job at second, while a late start to spring training for Wilyer Abreu opens the door for Roman Anthony to begin the season with the big league club. There’s some debate about Anthony being able to stick in right field at Fenway Park. Still, I thought his starting there, instead of forcing him to learn how the Green Monster plays and Ceddanne Rafaela learning a new position in right, made more sense to begin the season. Should Anthony show shortcomings, people can shift around to accommodate him. However, if Abreu is ready for Opening Day or shortly afterward, he will roam right field again this season while Anthony gets more reps at Triple-A Worcester. David Hamilton appears to have the edge at second base during spring training and should lock in the starting job within the next week or so. Bench Carlos Narvaez, C Rob Refsnyder, OF Romy Gonzalez, Util Masataka Yoshida, OF/DH The elephant in the room is still Masataka Yoshida and his contract. The addition of Alex Bregman likely forces Alex Cora’s hand and shifts Devers to DH and Yoshida to the bench. He’s an expensive bench piece and will likely make late-game pinch-hitting appearances and occasionally show up in the starting lineup at DH. Still, if Bregman doesn’t play second base, there’s probably no other option. Rob Refsnyder should slot in as a platoon partner with Abreu, while Gonzalez can slot in most places around the infield. Should Devers insist on playing third, which is possible, Bregman shifting to second would push Hamilton to the bench, and Yoshida would return to the starting DH role. Starting Rotation Garrett Crochet, LHP Tanner Houck, RHP Walker Buehler, RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Brayan Bello, RHP There are a couple of changes from my last projection here. I’ve swapped Kutter Crawford for Richard Fitts and moved Brayan Bello to the fifth starter role, down from the third. Crawford will begin the year on the Injured List and could be out for much of the season if his knee injury continues to be bothersome. The shift downward for Bello isn’t because of anything major or me not believing in him; you won’t find a bigger Bello fan than myself; it’s because he’s gotten off to a later start to spring training and slotting him in later in the starting rotation gives him a couple of extra days to get acclimated. Should he show up and show out in spring training, though, he slides right back to my original placement of third in the rotation. Bullpen Aroldis Chapman, LHP Liam Hendriks, RHP Justin Slaten, RHP Garrett Whitlock, RHP Richard Fitts, RHP Justin Wilson, RHP Luis Guerrero, RHP Adam Ottavino, RHP There are some changes here as well. Richard Fitts has been electric this spring training and has earned his way into the starting rotation conversation. Still, Alex Cora put the kibosh on any six-man rotation talk earlier during spring training. Fitts best fits (I’m so sorry, Davy) in a long-relief role to begin the season as a long reliever, allowing him to showcase his pitch mix and increased velocity through the middle innings. I’ve also given the roster nod to veteran Adam Ottavino over guys like Brennan Bernardino or *shudders* Josh Winckowski. Neither have a place on the major league roster over someone like Ottavino, who knows what it’s like to pitch in Boston during a successful season and can be a veteran ear for the younger members of the bullpen. We’ll have another roster projection closer to Opening Day, so keep an eye out for that as we get closer to the best day of the year. What are your thoughts on this projection? Can Campbell play his way back into the second-base conversation? Will Devers come around to playing DH to accommodate a Gold Glove-winning third baseman on the roster? What if Marcelo Mayer continues tearing up spring training? Let us know in the comments! View full article

Luis Guerrero showed up late last season and turned some heads. Can he be counted on to step into a higher-leverage role in 2025? Luis Guerrero was a surprising bright spot in the late 2024 season bullpen. He appeared in nine games, throwing ten innings with a zero ERA, nine strikeouts, and a 0.80 WHIP. He came up for a cup of coffee with the big league team and showed he had enough potential to be an essential piece of the 2025 bullpen. So far in spring training, he has looked mostly the part of an impact arm. He has appeared in four games with 3.1 innings pitched, seven strikeouts, a 1.80 WHIP, and sports a 5.40 ERA. He gave up two runs in a third of an inning to Pittsburgh in his latest outing, but it was the first time this spring that he had gone more than one inning in an appearance. As he stretches out to multi-inning relief appearances, he should be able to get through them without an issue. As you can see in the video below, his first outing of spring training gave us an excellent view of what we could expect in 2025. Guerrero sports a solid three-pitch mix, a four-seam slider, and a changeup that allows him to be effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. His fastball averages 97.5 MPH while his changeup averages 88.7, and the slider is a true putaway pitch when he’s hunting for strikeouts. Unlike starting rotation members, Guerrero doesn’t pitch to contact very often. He relies on his velocity to throw his fastball past hitters and the east/west break of his changeup and slider to get hitters to swing through them. What does Guerrero’s role for 2025 look like, though? Should his whiff rate continue to be at the level it was last year, over 40% according to CBS Sports, then it’s highly likely we’ll see Guerrero slot into a high-leverage relief role during the 2025 season. They even have him listed as a candidate to breakout for the Red Sox this season, something we all should hope happens. Some believe that Guerrero could end up in the closer role at some point in his career, and that doesn’t seem too farfetched. The Red Sox already have several closer candidates in the bullpen, but it is never bad to have someone young and electric eyeing the position soon. What do you expect from Guerrero in 2025? View full article

Two old friends have emerged as the likely candidates to start the season at second base. Entering spring training, the general consensus around the Red Sox was that there would be a fierce competition for the starting job at second base. So far we’ve started to see this play out, except not with the names that we expected. Instead of Alex Bregman and Kristian Campbell battling it out, we’ve seen both David Hamilton and Vaughn Grissom take big steps forward at the position. Campbell’s early struggles in camp have seen him get some time in left field, Bregman has rotated through third base and DH, and Hamilton and Grissom have split time at second. To date, Campbell has started two games at second and three in left, Hamilton has started four games at second and four at shortstop, and Grissom has started seven games at second. All of Bregman’s starts have either come at third or DH so far this spring. This should lead us to believe that the starting second baseman will come down to either Grissom or Hamilton. Let’s take a look and see if one player holds the edge over the other so far this spring and what this means for the player who does not get the starting job. Offensively, we’re looking at an incredibly small sample size so far. Grissom is slashing .125/.176/.125 while Hamilton is slashing .235/.350/.471, both through seven games, as of this writing. Those are…not stellar numbers, to put it mildly. As we talked about on the Talk Sox Podcast this week, both players showed up to camp in better shape with more muscle than last season, hopefully meaning both of them can stay healthy throughout an entire season. We’ve seen a bit of pop from Hamilton, and he's already hit one home run. Hamilton also takes another step forward for the job when consider his three stolen bases to Grissom’s zero. He’s walked three times to Grissom’s one, and he’s struck out twice to Grissom’s four. Once again, this is an incredibly small sample size, but the picture of the starting second baseman for the Boston Red Sox is starting to come a bit more into focus. Defensively, both Hamilton and Grissom have looked comfortable at second. Last season, the shift to second was the turning point in Hamilton’s season, when he became an impact player for the Red Sox. Keeping him at his natural position would give him the chance to succeed both offensively and defensively. Hamilton's late-season injury seemed to push him out of the minds of Red Sox fans. However he played 98 games and swiped 33 bases during that time. He posted 1.7 WAR which would rank him ninth in the AL among second basemen with at least 300 PAs. There's reason to believe that Hamilton's success in 2024 will carry over to 2025. What does this mean for Grissom? It’s a bit of a loaded question, considering the trade that brought Grissom here, but that’s not the point of this piece. Realistically, if the Red Sox think Hamilton is their starting second baseman in 2025, then we’re likely to see some sort of platoon. Hamilton will start against right-handed pitchers and Grissom will start against left-handed pitchers. Should Hamilton prove to be able to hit both righties and lefties, though, Grissom will be relegated to either a bench spot or sent back down to triple-A Worcester. If the Red Sox believe Kristian Campbell is the second baseman of the future, then Grissom likely will be forced to learn a new position entirely. He came through the Atlanta system as a shortstop, but that position appears to be filled for the next few seasons by Trevor Story, with Marcelo Mayer waiting in the wings. Third base could be the most likely option if Bregman does man the hot corner and then opts out at any point during his contract, with Rafael Devers DH'ing. However, the Red Sox are dangerously thin at first base behind Triston Casa,s so don’t be shocked if you see Grissom getting reps there in Worcester during the season. There are still a lot of roster questions to be answered during spring training, but Hamilton appears to have the edge when it comes to the starting second base job, at least for now. What that could mean for Vaughn Grissom is still up in the air, and is entirely dependent upon team needs. View full article

Spoiler Alert: Yes. If you’re a Talk Sox Podcast listener, you’re already well aware that I’ve been talking about the Red Sox and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. since the offseason began. I want them to trade for him, right now. Pay whatever price Toronto asks, get him here, and extend him. Make him the face of this franchise. But in my heart of hearts, did I actually believe the Boston Red Sox would be willing to bring in someone like Vlady? I want to say yes I did, but I had very little faith that John Henry would open up his wallet to pay a lot of money for a single player, even one who could alter the franchise trajectory by themselves. Considering how involved Boston was in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, I started to believe that maybe Henry’s mind was changing and he would be willing to overpay to get his guy. Then, the majority of the offseason was quiet. While I jokingly kept finding ways to bring Guerrero up on the podcast, I’ll admit that I had very little faith he could actually end up in Boston, despite the rumors he wants to play here. Outside of free agent deals to Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida, there was no real reason to believe the Red Sox would pony up for someone who likely will cost over $400 million in free agency. But suddenly, around 9:30 Central on February 12, I was convinced. The Red Sox played the waiting game with Alex Bregman, much to the chagrin of the fanbase, but they signed their impact right-handed hitter to a three-year, $120-million contract. No, it’s not a $400 million contract, but it’s an overpay. The type of overpay that was necessary to make sure the Red Sox secured the player they wanted on their roster. It’s the exact type of overpay that leads me to believe that if Guerrero does indeed become a free agent, the Red Sox will actually be the frontrunners to sign him. The Bregman signing proved one other thing that to me bodes well for future big-name free agent signings. There had been rumors over the last couple of offseasons that free agents didn’t want to come to Boston. The thought was they’d take the same money, or less, to play elsewhere. However, Bregman had better offers on the table. He was able to see that the Red Sox are serious about getting back into contention, they invested in their weakest position group, and they have a top-tier farm system that should begin to pay dividends as soon as this season. Guerrero will see the exact same things next off-season. We can't forget that the Red Sox already have a first baseman who's a pretty good slugger in his own right. Bringing Guerrero into the fold would obviously make Triston Casas would be the odd man out. Guerrero would slot into the everyday first baseman role, making Casas expendable. Should he have a breakout season in 2025, Casas could be a prime trade chip, or he could even convince the Sox that they don't need a free agent first baseman after all. If Guerrero really does want to play in Boston, and he should because he’s a monster at Fenway Park, then the signing of Bregman gives me hope that John Henry will once again open his wallet for the type of player that will thrive in Boston. The Red Sox are a big market team and big market teams make impact free agent signings. Bregman was the first one, and Guerrero reaches free agency in 2025, whicn now seems like a certainty, the Red Sox would be foolish to let him call any other city but Boston home for a long time. View full article