Things Have Happened

So while I was driving 1,543 miles in two days Chaim Bloom decided to get busy.  After a somewhat frustrating stretch as big names fell off the free agent board he dropped big money on infielder Trevor Story.  I’m a bit conflicted here because I suspect it means that Xander Bogaerts’ time with the club is dwindling.  I think something in me has changed over the last couple of years and having had the good fortune to see four World Series titles I’m a bit more interested in players I want to root for.  This feels like the kind of move that five-ten years ago I’d have seen as good forward planning (and it is that) and recognize that it is the call.  But now, I’m a bit less emotionally charged over it.

But that concern can wait because Chaim Bloom has unquestionably made the 2022 Boston Red Sox better.  Story is the big attention grabber and rightly so but putting Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm in the bullpen mix should be a good depth move if not more.  With that in mind even though we considered the roster just over a week ago it is probably time to reevaluate things and see where we stand now.

INFIELD: Bobby Dalbec, Trevor Story, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Christian Arroyo, Travis Shaw
Minors: Jonathan Arauz, Jeter Downs, Ryan Fitzgerald

Story slots in at second base for now and Arroyo and Shaw fit as utility men.  Adding Story is a big shift for this infield as he represents a massive upgrade over Arroyo and his band of merry men.  There is also the trickle down effect, Arroyo is significantly better than Arauz and if you assume a backup infielder is going to get 250 PA the more of those that go to Arroyo rather than Arauz is a meaningful plus.

OUTFIELD: Alex Verdugo, Jackie Bradley Jr., Kiké Hernandez, Rob Refsnyder
Minors: Jarren Duran, Franchy Cordero

I may be wrong here but if he’s not going to be the starter I expect Duran to be in Worcester to open the season.  The right-handed Refsnyder is a nice fit to spell JBJ or Doogs against a tough lefty.  Alex Cora has also said that Arroyo and Dalbec will start getting some reps in the outfield though if Dalbec keeps raking he’s going to stay at first base.

CATCHER: Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki
Minors: Connor Wong

Not much to say here.  These are our catchers.  Wong looked reasonably competent in limited appearances last year so I think he makes a nice “uh oh” option if one of the two goes down for a relatively short stint.

DH: JD Martinez

I mean yeah.

ROTATION: Nate Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Tanner Houck
Minors: Connor Seabold, Brayan Bello, Derek Holland
Disabled List: Chris Sale, James Paxton

Sale on the DL is the big news.  The more concerning part is the amount of time he’s expected to miss.  The Sox, like the Padres with Fernando Tatis, look like they shot themselves in the foot a bit with the lockout.  Had the injury been addressed properly day one the Sox might have avoided some of this.  But Chris Sale missing time is not really the most shocking development ever and with Houck the Sox are well suited to absorb some innings.  The big thing for the Sox is how they use Houck and how he lets them use him.  Will he be able to pitch a third time through the order effectively and will Cora give him the chance to do so?

BULLPEN: Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, Hirokazu Sawamura, Garrett Whitlock, Jake Diekman, Matt Strahm, Eduard Bazardo, Austin Davis
Minors: Darwinzon Hernandez, Phillips Valdez
Injured List: Josh Taylor

There is a curious lack of left-handed slugging in the division.  Tampa (Matthews, Lowe, Choi) have a few, the Yankees have Gallo and Rizzo and the Blue Jays have no expected left-handed hitting starters.  With that in mind the Sox bullpen is a bit curiously south-facing.  Diekman and Strahm both handle righties as well as lefties though which should help mitigate things somewhat.  The bullpen is like you’d expect with a bullpen, somewhat uncertain with a lot of potential variance.  I generally like the arms the Sox have though they didn’t throw enough strikes for me last year.  Sawamura is one guy I want to really love but he seems to give up a lot of hard contact despite what looks like pretty good stuff.

Anyway, I imagine something will happen to change this in the coming days.