Who Plays for the Boston Red Sox These Days? If They Play

Friday, June 19, 2020

John Crowe, Sports Contributor

With the day-to-day, back-and-forth dance moving along between Major League Baseball players and owners, we pose the simple question today - do you remember who your 2020 Boston Red Sox are?

Oh sure, we know there are still things to be worked out officially as to how many games are to played, who gets paid what and when it will start, but I think we can all agree that come August, there will be baseball being played in some form or fashion. My guess is anywhere between 48 -60 games. And yes, we still think that even after the two sides can’t even agree on what they’ve agreed on prompting Players Association President Tony Clark to issue this tweet Thursday.

So, if you're like me and the everyday romanticism that is baseball has fallen off the deep end with the now four-month COVID-19 pandemic, a refresher course is definitely needed. Sure, we all know that Mookie Betts and David Price are long gone out West in that trade to the Dodgers (GoLocal Prov) that has now brought the Red Sox some financial stability moving forward, but do you remember who came to Boston in that deal? Well, it was outfielder Alex Verdugo, busted back (stress fracture to be exact) and all, along with infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong, both who were destined for the minor leagues back when minor league baseball was still present, unlike our present-day situation.

But, first, let’s aim even higher. Do you even remember who is managing the 2020 Boston Red Sox? Well, it’s not Alex Cora. Just one year removed from winning a World Series in 2018, Cora finds himself suspended by MLB for his role in the 2017-18 Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal. The man leading the way in Boston should there be baseball in 2020 is Ron Roenicke, Cora’s bench coach and former Brewers manager. Interestingly enough, Roenicke is on just a one-year contact so the door remains ajar for a return to Cora as he was cleared of any wrongdoing in the Red Sox own 2019 sign-stealing case. Roenicke is new Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom’s first hire since replacing former President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski in that role (GoLocal Prov).

Back on the field, there are many familiar faces positionally as only Brock Holt joins Betts and Price out the door with Holt now in Milwaukee on a free-agent deal. Around the horn, it seems to be Mitch Moreland back at first base, Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, Rafael Devers at third base and in the outfield, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. joining Verdugo. Christian Vazquez should hold down the starting role behind the plate as well.

At second base, the Sox have a hole that looks to be filled with newcomer Jose Peraza coming over from Cincinnati to pair with Michael Chavis. Peraza is a career .273 hitter yet struggled in 2019, hitting just .239. Chavis impressed in his rookie slate with 18 HRs and 58 RBI in only 95 games. Dustin Pedroia’s bad knee continues to make him a longshot at ever playing another game in a Red Sox uniform, but he is still on the roster for 2020.

Pitching-wise, the Red Sox appear to be full of question marks. Chris Sale joins Price on the outs as he’s had Tommy John surgery and the next time he will pitch for Boston will be in 2021. Gone too is Rick Porcello, who takes his 14 wins and 174 innings to New York as a new member of the Mets. So now, Eduardo Rodriguez appears to be the “ace” of the staff after a stellar 19-6 campaign, something that shouldn’t make any Sox fan feel easy considering the up-and-down nature of E-Rod’s past few seasons both with production and injuries. Joining him in the five-man rotation should be Nathan Eovaldi, former Twins/Rangers starter Martin Perez, former Astro Collin McHugh and Ryan Weber. In all, every pitcher in the rotation brings up questions from durability, injury and/or never having performed in this spot before.

Eovoldi missed most of the 2019 season before appearing in 23 games as both a starter and reliever, going just 2-1 with a 5.99 ERA. Perez brings a career 4+ ERA to Boston after a 10-7, 5.12 ERA season in Minnesota. McHugh was just 4-5 with Houston and is coming off a right elbow injury. As for Weber, the former Mariner, Ray and Brave, brings a 2-4, 5.09 ERA into his second season with the Red Sox. Not exactly Cy Young material there.

At least with the bullpen, the backend has done the job. Matt Barnes and Brandon Workman, who racked up 16 of the team’s 33 saves in 2019, should be your closer/set-up tandem to begin the season. Ryan Brasier, Darwinzon Hernandez (57K’s in 30 innings in his rookie stint), Heath Hembree and Brian Johnson have all had various stints throughout their time in Boston the past few seasons. Austin Brice joins the staff in an offseason trade with the Marlins.

Jackie Bradley, Jr. PHOTO: MLB

The problem with the 2020 Red Sox is that a few key teams around them have gotten better. The Yankees have added Gerrit Cole to replace CC Sabathia in their starting rotation. The Astros have a chip on their collective shoulder trying to prove their cheating scandal didn’t matter. The Twins traded for Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda along with adding free agent pitchers Rich Hill, Homer Bailey and third baseman Josh Donaldson. They are clearly your front runners in the American League.

Plus, it’s not only winning the AL East like in years gone by. MLB has proposed using three 10-team divisions for the shortened season, according to CBS Sports. If approved, the Red Sox would be in the East with the Yankees, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Phillies, Pirates, Blue Jays, Rays and Marlins. Out of those teams alone, you could argue that the Red Sox are no better than 6th or 7th with the talent they’ve assembled thus far.

On the positive side, Bogaerts (.309 avg., 33 HRs, 117 RBI) and Devers (.311 avg., 32 HRs, 115 RBI) are coming off spectacular seasons and seem to be getting better with each passing year. JD Martinez opted back in to return for another season bringing back his 36 HRs, 105 RBI and .304 average. Vazquez improved both offensively and defensively in 2019, hitting .276 with 23HRs and 72 RBI and could be helped out with whoever survives “spring training” between Jonathan Lucroy, a Roenicke favorite, and Kevin Plawecki, both who are much better with the bat than the recently departed Sandy Leon, who left for Cleveland.

Kevin Pillar and Verdugo will have to combine to replace the void left by Betts. Yes, it’s a big void, but Pillar is at least a Gold Glove caliber player who can play all three outfield spots. Verdugo, who’s coming off that back injury and should be helped by the delayed start to the season, is the X-Factor as to what he can provide. Boston is expecting him to be that power-lefty-bat in the line-up that could protect Martinez, Bogaerts and Devers in the order. In just 106 games in 2019, his first full season with the Dodgers, Verdugo hit .294 with 12 HRs and 44 RBI.

The line-up should have enough pop in it to keep the Red Sox contending. It will firmly be a matter if the pitching holds up or not. Too many questions to start the season is why Boston isn’t in the mix of possible playoff players. But it wouldn’t surprise me that if they get off to a hot start, they could piece it together to make a wild-card run, especially with the extended postseason participants expected to be at 12 teams instead of 10. Reportedly, it would be the top four teams in each division that make the playoffs, but that’s not official yet and could be changed.

The question for Red Sox Nation now is will they watch and do they care? With the loss of former MVP and face-of-the-franchise Betts be too much for Sox fans to take? For all our baseball sake, let’s just hope they have games played at all. It would be a nice distraction and a somewhat return to what normal used to be like.

Active Roster:

1B - Mitch Moreland
2B - Jose Peraza
2B/1B - Michael Chavis
2B - Dustin Pedroia (injured)
SS - Xander Bogaerts
3B - Rafael Devers
IF - Tzu-Wei Lin
IF - Jonathan Arauz
OF - Andrew Benintendi
OF - Jackie Bradley Jr.
OF - Kevin Pillar
OF/DH - JD Martinez
OF - Alex Verdugo (if healthy, back)
C - Christian Vazquez
C - Kevin Plawecki
C - Jonathan Lucroy
P - Matt Barnes
P - Ryan Brasier
P - Austin Brice
P - Nathan Eovaldi
P - Heath Hembree
P - Darwinzon Hernandez
P - Collin McHugh
P - Martin Perez
P - Eduardo Rodriguez
P - Josh Taylor
P - Brian Johnson
P - Marcus Walden
P - Ryan Weber
P - Brandon Workman
P - Chris Sale (IR - out for season)

Expected Rotation:

Eduardo Rodriguez
Nathan Eovaldi
Martin Perez (FA - Rangers/Twins)
Ryan Weber
Collin McHugh (FA - Astros)

Expected Bullpen:

Matt Barnes
Brandon Workman
Darwinzon Hernandez
Ryan Brasier
Marcus Walden
Heath Hembree
Austin Brice (trade - Marlins)
Brian Johnson

Expected Position Players:

C - Christian Vazquez
1B - Mitch Moreland
2B - Jose Peraza (FA - Reds)
SS - Xander Bogaerts
3B - Rafael Devers
LF - Andrew Benintendi
CF - Jackie Bradley Jr.
RF - Alex Verdugo (traded from LA Dodgers)
DH - JD Martinez

Expected Bench:

OF - Kevin Pillar (FA)
1B/2B/OF - Michael Chavis
C - Kevin Plawecki or Jonathan Lucroy
IF – Tzu-Wei Lin
IF - Jonathan Arauz (rule 5 - Astros)

Additions:

P – Martin Perez (FA – Twins)
P – Collin McHugh (FA - Astros)
P – Austin Brice (trade – Marlins)
IF – Jose Peraza (FA – Reds)
IF - Jonathan Arauz (rule 5 – Astros)

Subtractions:

P - David Price (traded to LA Dodgers)
OF - Mookie Belts (traded to LA Dodgers)
IF/OF - Brock Holt (FA - Milwaukee)
Manager - Alex Cora (suspended)
IF/OF - Steve Pearce (retired)
P - Hector Velazquez (released)
P - Austin Maddox (retired)
IF - Marco Hernandez (released)
IF/OF - Sam Travis (released)
IF – Edwin Nunez (FA – NY Mets)