If the Red Sox want to add a player to their 2023 Opening Day roster who’s not currently on their 40-man roster, they’ll have to remove a player. There are few players the Red Sox would be comfortable potentially losing — something to keep in mind with these spring training position battles.
Baseball games are back! The 2023 Red Sox have some things to figure out in spring training. And so it begins.
2023 Red Sox Spring Training Position Battles
2023 Red Sox Spring Training Battle: Fifth Starter
I’ve written much about this rotation and the pitching staff generally; I won’t repeat myself too much here.
The 2023 Red Sox have seven or eight MLB starter candidates competing for five spots. Chris Sale, Corey Kluber, Nick Pivetta, and Garrett Whitlock are rotation locks. Tanner Houck, James Paxton, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford (should be) are up for the last spot. No, Bello isn’t a lock like a lot of people think. Paxton isn’t automatically going to the bullpen to ease him back, either. If all is well by the end of spring training, Houck’s in the bullpen.
Nobody’s talking much about Crawford for whatever reason.
As I’ve mentioned, there’s likely to be piggybacking early on to manage starter workloads with so many health/durability questions. What might that look like? Who knows? The Sox need a multi-inning/long reliever in the bullpen, too, so at least one starter (other than Houck) that loses out on a rotation spot goes there (except Bello; if he’s not in the MLB rotation, he’ll be in Worcester’s).
2023 Red Sox Spring Training Battle: Final Bullpen Spots
The Red Sox bullpen underwent a much-needed overhaul for 2023. Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, John Schreiber, Ryan Brasier, Richard Bleier, and Joely Rodriguez are in. Six of eight bullpen spots are set.
When discussing the bullpen, Alex Cora said, “We don’t know how the rotation is gonna shape up and somebody has to be a multi-inning guy,” Cora said. “Somebody has to pitch in the sixth. It can’t be the same guys over and over and over again.”
Paxton and Houck, who’s being stretched out as a starter but is likely headed for the bullpen, have the inside track for multi-inning roles. Crawford, also being stretched out, should be in that multi-inning mix, too, in my opinion. Wyatt Mills, Zack Kelly, Kaleb Ort and his 100 mph fastball are in the mix for the middle relief role solely because they are on the 40-man roster. Ryan Sherriff or another non-roster invitee are long shots. Based on what he did last year, I’d say Kelly has the best shot at the middle relief role.
Of course, if the Red Sox are going to piggyback, they’d have two multi-inning pitchers not named Houck in the bullpen. If that’s the case, Whitlock can go down there and do what he did the first few weeks of 2022.
Health is going to be a significant determining factor in any pitching decisions.
Three Catchers?
Connor Wong and Jorge Alfaro will compete for the Red Sox’s second catcher spot. Reese McGuire is all but locked in. I’d be shocked if he’s the odd man out.
Alfaro is a veteran backup catcher with a big arm and good power, but he’s not good defensively. He’s been below average in catcher framing in four of the last six seasons and has the fourth-most passed balls (48) since 2017.
The Red Sox also apparently liked that he can play first base.
Not on the 40-man roster, Alfaro has opt-outs in his minor league contract in June and again in July. So the Sox could keep him in Worcester for the first few months and see what happens.
Alfaro is playing for Team Colombia in the World Baseball Classic.
McGuire wasn’t much of a drop-off from Christian Vázquez defensively, and he hit really well after the trade.
After making marked improvement at Triple-A, Wong did not impress last year with the Red Sox. In 27 games in 2022, he hit .188/.273/.313/.585 with a home run, 7 RBI, five walks and 16 strikeouts and threw out 14 percent of base stealers.
It turns out he played with a bad ankle for most of last year.
The least experienced catcher Wong makes quality contact, but Cora said he needs to consistently make more contact.
There’s some speculation that Wong might get some reps at second base during spring training (he’s done it before in the minors). The Red Sox could carry three catchers and occasionally use Alfaro at first base and Wong at second base in an emergency.
2023 Red Sox Spring Training Battle: Final Bench Spot
Three of the Red Sox’s four bench spots are filled, and it’ll be interesting to see where they go with the last spot. The 2023 Sox bench currently is whoever isn’t catching, Rob Refsnyder, and Yu Chang (for now). Chang is the only MLB quality infielder on the roster other than Enrique Hernandez and Christian Arroyo — both starting as of now.
Wonder why the Sox don’t have Elvis Andrus or Jose Iglesias? Playing time. Boston’s infield is a bit crowded when healthy: Kike, Arroyo, Adalberto Mondesi, and Story. They don’t feel the Red Sox are a good fit for them.
Jarren Duran and Raimel Tapia are the other MLB-ready outfielders in the organization. Duran is on the roster, but Tapia is not. Duran has the edge purely because of that. Though, Tapia is the better, more reliable player.
Niko Goodrum, Enmanuel Valdez, and David Hamilton are the other middle infielders in the organization in the mix. Valdez and Hamilton are on the 40-man roster but have barely played at Triple-A. Goodrum is not on the roster but has 400 MLB games under his belt over six seasons, mostly at second base and shortstop.
Valdez and Hamilton could make the team, but they are not ready for big-time, though, like I said. Valdez can hit but is terrible defensively; Hamilton has elite speed but isn’t ready offensively or defensively.
Bobby Dalbec is redundant at this point, with Justin Turner as the backup first baseman, Adam Duvall having some experience there, and Alfaro in the mix. He’ll get a lot of playing time in spring training, though. Hopefully, he’ll build up his trade value.
Questions That Need Answering
A lack of depth was part of the 2022 Red Sox downfall. Is it wise for the 2023 Red Sox to carry three catchers, with Wong having second base experience and Alfaro having first base experience despite being a below-average defensive catcher, or to add Goodrum? Or do the Sox opt for a second bench outfielder?
Does Paxton start or go to the bullpen? If Paxton’s in the rotation, then Bello’s at Triple-A? That’s a crazy thought. There’s no way the Red Sox would take their innings leader in Pivetta and put him in the bullpen… Right?
It will be interesting to see these spring training battles play out and how the Red Sox ultimately choose to finish off the 2023 Opening Day roster.
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