By: Peter Alves
Drew Pomerantz pitched on 3-2-18 versus the Cardinals and got taken out of the game in the 2nd inning. He left with forearm tightness and is reportedly a precautionary. (@bradfo) He always gets hurt during Spring Training and there is still a month left so I am not too worried. I am confident he will be out there in a week or so. I will start to worry if he gets shut down for 2 weeks and is not looking like he will make Opening Day. If it is a major injury and he does miss time, I expect E-Rod or Johnson to replace him.
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By: Peter Alves
Blake Swihart was once the top catching prospect in all of baseball and now he is fighting to make a roster spot. Out of minor league options, he only can make the team, or is put on waivers. His career has been all over the place. He was first called up on May 5, 2015 from AAA after Ryan Hanigan went on the DL and Christian Vazquez already out for the rest of the year from TJ surgery. He caught all that time and did well hitting .274. Then his career went down. He got optioned on April 15, 2016 because of Vazquez return from TJ and Hanigan not having any options. 2016 was the year of no one in LF, everyone getting hurt. Chris Young’s hamstring injury and Brock Holt’s concussion, the Redsox asked him to go into LF to get some time in the majors. He agreed to this and got called up again on May 20, 2016 playing LF. This prompted him to getting hurt with a ankle injury in LF ending his season in 2016. Then in 2017 he had the “yips”. He was seen not being able to throw back to Porcello, so he started the year in AAA and only played 9 games in 2017 from being blocked by Leon and Vazquez. Now he is playing the super utility role in Spring Training, saying he could play catcher, 1B, 2B. SS, 3B, or LF. He has now played 6 of the first 8 Spring Training games playing two at catcher, three at DH, and one at 1B. Although it is only Spring Training he is off to a hot start, (12 AB) hitting .417 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. Are the Redsox playing him so much so that other teams can get a look at him for trade bait, are they serious to give him a shot at a utility role, or are they going to start the year as a third catcher? By: Peter Alves
Like any team, the Redsox have questions going into Opening Day. Here are my 6 questions heading into the 2018 season: 1. Who will be the 5th starter? With both E-Rod and Wright coming off knee surgery, could be in the running, but an outside shot of Johnson or Ellias can make it as well. My guess would be Steven Wright being named the 5th starter. 2. What will the bullpen look like? The right handers in the bullpen are already set in stone but who will join Scott as the other left hander. They only have one lefty and I do not see them going into the season with only one. The three candidates are E-Rod, Johnson, or Ellias. E-Rod pitched out of the bullpen in the 2017 playoffs versus the Indians. In his only appearance giving up 2 ER in 1.1 IP. The other two candidates, Johnson and Ellias given a shot in Spring Training. My guess would be E-Rod being put in the bullpen and the other two being sent down. If E-Rod makes the rotation, Johnson would be my pick to make the bullpen as the other lefty, but Steven Wright would join the bullpen also. 3. What will the Redsox do with Blake Swihart? He’s out of minor league options, injury free, and the “yips” behind him, Swihart is trying out a utility role to start Spring Training to make the team. He will either make the team as a third catcher, utility man, traded to another team, or be sent on waivers due to no more AAA options. 4. What is the bench going to look like? With the Redsox signing JD Martinez, Moreland will be starting the year on the bench because of Hanley having to play 1B and Martinez playing DH, and Leon will be the backup catcher so that leaves two spots remaining (if it is the same number of position players as 2017). The candidates are Holt, Swihart, Castillo, Hernandez, Marrero, and Lin. Lin is usually an IF but is playing a lot of OF in the Spring to expand his versality, but I do not see him making the roster being blocked by Holt and/or Swihart. Castillo is an OF, but I do not see him making the roster being blocked by Martinez ability to play OF. I do not see Marrero making it because of Nunez being on the roster and expected him to replace Pedrioia because of his offseason knee surgery. The last two are tricky… Pedrioia is not expected to be back until at least May but if he is ready for Opening Day (highly unlikely), I see Swihart not making the team because of Nunez going to be on the bench now but this situation is most likely not going to happen. Holt has been the super utility player since 2015 and he’s been good at it. Swihart is trying to do the same thing to make a spot on the team. I see Holt making it because of his proven versality and I see Swihart to make the team to start off the year as an insurance catcher or a utility player. 5. What will the Opening Day Lineup be? Lineups change but Cora said he wants Hanley to be the 3 hitter, this is how I see the Opening Day lineup panning out: Betts, Benintendi, Ramirez, Martinez, Devers, Bogearts, Nunez, Vazquez, and JBJ 6. What will the Opening Day Rotation be? Pitching rotations do not matter but still a talking point, but this one is easy: Sale, Price, Porcello, Pomerantz, and Wright |
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