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On paper, the Red Sox roster looks basically set. The club only has one starting spot in the lineup up for grabs and the pitching staff has largely taken shape as well.
Yet with Opening Day less than a week away, there are still a handful of issues to resolve, both regarding who might make the team and how they’ll be utilized. Here are a couple of questions the Red Sox must answer in the coming days.
How will Rafaela factor in?
At this point it looks more likely than not Ceddanne Rafaela will make the Opening Day roster, and even if he isn’t named the starting center fielder he’ll probably have a role to play on this team through the season’s opening month.
Assuming he does earn the starting job, the most likely outfield alignment would be Jarren Duran in left, Rafaela in center and a platoon of Tyler O’Neill and Wilyer Abreu in right, with Masataka Yoshida serving as the primary designated hitter and as an option in left as well. This combination would also lessen the initial impact of Rob Refsnyder’s toe injury, but the Red Sox have indicated they would prefer to have a right-handed hitting outfielder available on the bench. More on that later.
One wrinkle to Rafaela’s situation is his versatility, and this week we saw manager Alex Cora begin to lean into his talents as an infielder by giving the rookie playing time at second base. That could make Rafaela a possible solution to another problem facing the Red Sox coming out of camp.
How will Sox handle second base?
With presumptive starter Vaughn Grissom expected to start the season on the injured list, Enmanuel Valdez should open as Boston’s starting second baseman. But Cora also said the club will utilize a platoon at the position, meaning there will be a right-handed hitting alternative to the lefty hitting Valdez.
Rafaela could potentially be a part of that equation. The 23-year-old is regarded as an excellent defensive infielder, and while he’s arguably overqualified to play second base, his ability to fill in against lefties would open up different possibilities elsewhere, especially once Refsnyder is healthy.
Cora has said people shouldn’t read too much into Rafaela playing second and that if he makes the team the majority of his playing time will be in center field. That suggests the more likely solution is a platoon involving utility man Pablo Reyes, whose chances to make the Opening Day roster significantly increased Thursday when his primary competition — Romy Gonzalez — was optioned to Triple-A.
How will Sox line up against lefties?
Whether or not Rafaela makes the team, the Red Sox should be in good shape against righties. The club has a plethora of dangerous left-handed hitters, and between Duran, Yoshida and Abreu there will always be quality options in the outfield and at DH no matter how Cora decides to mix and match. But against lefties those options become more limited, especially while Refsynder is out.
The Red Sox lineup versus lefties would probably look something like this: Connor Wong at catcher, Triston Casas or whichever of C.J. Cron or Bobby Dalbec makes the roster at first, Reyes or Rafaela at second, Trevor Story at shortstop, Rafael Devers at third, Yoshida at DH, and O’Neill, Duran and usually Rafaela in the outfield. But if Rafaela is playing second or starts the year in Triple-A, then who is the third outfielder against lefties?
Do the Red Sox trust Abreu to play every day? The rookie has historically fared much worse against lefties than righties in the minors and barely got any at bats against them in the majors, so that’s not an ideal solution. After him the next best option is probably Reyes, who admittedly has a solid .803 career OPS against lefties and experience at all three outfield positions.
Maybe that’s good enough to help the Red Sox get by until Refsnyder is healthy, or maybe the club could wind up swinging a trade or signing someone from outside the organization to fill the void. Either way the Red Sox are going to have some tough decisions to make, both leading up to and after Opening Day.
Do Sox carry a second lefty?
No matter what happens, the Red Sox pitching staff is going to skew heavily right-handed. All five starting pitchers will be righties, as are most of those vying for a spot in the bullpen. Brennan Bernardino should be a lock as the top lefty, but it will be interesting to see if any others join him.
As of this writing the Red Sox have only two other lefties remaining in big league camp, Joely Rodriguez and Lucas Luetge. Both have extensive major league experience, but both are also non-roster invitees who the Red Sox will need to clear space for if they make the team. With Chris Murphy likely out for the year with an elbow injury, the club’s internal options on the 40-man roster are limited.
The Red Sox will have to weigh their need for another lefty with the quality of the competition overall, though the club made a couple of big decisions Friday by optioning Cooper Criswell to Triple-A to stay stretched out as a starter, along with righty reliever Zack Kelly. With Isaiah Campbell and Justin Slaten expected to make the team, the club has to decide between two of Rodriguez, Luetge and righties Greg Weissert.
Will Sox keep Cron, Rodriguez?
The other consideration with some of the non-roster veterans is a few of them have opt out provisions that will make it challenging for the Red Sox to stash them in Triple-A. Two such veterans, Rodriguez and first baseman C.J. Cron, have reportedly already triggered theirs, which means the club has until Sunday afternoon to add them to the big league roster or allow them to become free agents.
Cron seems more likely to stick around, because he has an extensive big league track record as a power-hitting right-handed bat and his main competitor, Bobby Dalbec, can be freely optioned to Triple-A. Rodriguez has been effective this spring, but he also missed the majority of last season due to injury and his chief competitor, Luetge, has also pitched well this camp.
It will be interesting to see what direction the Red Sox take, and we shouldn’t have to wait long to find out.
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