Starting Lineup
CF Jacoby Ellsbury: nice rookie season as he batted .280 with 50 SB's
2B Dustin Pedroia: AL MVP and gold glove winner in just his 2nd full ML season
DH David Ortiz: numbers suffered (.264 BA, 23 HR) as Big Papi endured an injury-plagued season
1B Kevin Youkilis: considered one of the elite hitters in the AL after a 2008 season in which he hit .312 with 29 HR's, and 115 RBI's
RF JD Drew: played in only 109 games after consecutive seasons with over 140 games played UPDATE 3/30 - will bat in the #5 spot in front of Bay or Lowell
LF Jason Bay: post-trade numbers not quite Manny-esque but there's no complaining about his .293 BA, 9 HR's, and 37 RBI's in 49 games with the Sox
3B Mike Lowell: still a Red Sox after team failed to sign Teixeira; hip injury limited him to 113 games in '08
C Jason Varitek: his production has declined but re-signed because of his leadership in the clubhouse and with the pitching staff
SS Jed Lowrie: solid defender (0 errors in 45 starts at SS) who can get on base (career minor league OBP of .381)
Bench
C George Kottaras: has been a .242 hitter in AAA since being acquired from SD; out of options which means he could be with a new team by opening day UPDATE 3/18 - becomes the backup catcher to Varitek after Bard's release
IF Nick Green: UPDATE 3/11 - 30 year-old is 11-for-24 with 2 HR's this spring; gives the Sox another bench option if they choose to keep another IF on the roster UPDATE 3/15 - with Lugo likely to start the season on the DL, his chances of making the roster increase with his ability to play 2B, SS, 3B, and the OF
OF Rocco Baldelli: should get plenty of AB's against lefties (career .296 batter vs LHP)
OF Chris Carter: UPDATE 3/29 - 26 year-old is trying to beat out Jeff Bailey for the final roster spot; not only is he hitting .359 BA with 6 HR's this spring, the left-handed hitting Carter could have the edge because the other OF on the bench is right-handed hitting Rocco Baldelli UPDATE 3/31 - barring a last-minute roster move, Carter will be on the opening day roster
Starting Rotation
RHP Josh Beckett: only won 12 games with a 4.03 ERA; he'll need to do much better than that if the Sox are to compete with the Yankees and Rays
LHP Jon Lester: 16-6 record, 3.21 ERA, and 210.1 IP; doesn't get much better than that from a 24 year-old pitching in his first full ML season
RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka: 94 walks in 167.2 IP is ugly but there's nothing wrong with an 18-3 record and 2.90 ERA
RHP Tim Wakefield: innings-eater should continue to get the ball every 5th day for the Sox
RHP Brad Penny: former two-time All-Star gets a chance to bounce back as the #5 starter on one of the best pitching staffs in baseball UPDATE 2/26 - The Boston Globe's Bob Ryan and Nick Cafardo discuss Penny and the rest of the rotation UPDATE 4/2 - appears all set for opening day although it is yet to be determined whether he'll be on the opening day roster or if the Sox will wait until April 12th to activate him before his first scheduled start
Bullpen
RHP Jonathan Papelbon: 27 year-old has been named to the all-star team in three consecutive seasons and is one of the best closers in baseball
LHP Hideki Okajima: lefty wasn't as dominant in 2o08 but still managed a 2.61 ERA in 64 appearances
RHP Manny Delcarmen: appears ready to dominate after posting a 3.27 ERA with 72 K's and only 55 hits allowed in 74.1 IP
LHP Javier Lopez: left-handed specialist had a 2.43 ERA in 70 appearances
RHP Takashi Saito: if healthy, he'll setup Papelbon; if he's 75% of what he was before elbow problems, the Red Sox could arguably have the best bullpen in baseball UPDATE 3/2 - has thrown a scoreless inning in each of his first two spring outings while striking out three
RHP Justin Masterson: could be a successful starter in the majors (4-3, 3.67 ERA as a starter in '08) but not on this team; he'll continue to be part of the deep Boston bullpen where he posted a 2.36 ERA in 27 relief appearances UPDATE 3/26 - also in the mix for the #5 starter job if Penny is not ready to start the season
RHP Ramon Ramirez: acquired from KC in the Coco Crisp deal after a breakthrough performance in '08, posting a 2.64 ERA in 71 appearances
Disabled List
1B/OF Mark Kotsay: aiming for a May 1st return after back surgery; hit .226 after coming over in an August trade and hit .250 (10-for-40) in the playoffs
RHP John Smoltz: he thinks he'll be ready in April but the Red Sox are going to be patient and aren't expecting him back until June
RHP Miguel Gonzalez: faces an uphill battle trying to make this deep roster as a rule V draft pick; he'll have to be very impressive to make the ball club UPDATE 3/11 - Tommy John surgery will prevent him from taking the mound in 2009 but it does allow the Red Sox to keep him on the roster and retain his rights as a Rule V pick
IF Julio Lugo: Sox can't seem to unload his contract so he'll enter the season in a reserve role unless he can beat out Lowrie UPDATE 3/15 - meniscus tear will likely push him to the DL to start the season as the recovery period is anywhere from 4 weeks to several months UPDATE 3/15 - GM Theo Epstein says surgery may not be necessary but it is very probable UPDATE 3/16 - could return as early as the end of this month
OF Jonathan Van Every: can hit for average but lacks power and isn't a stolen base threat; will compete for a reserve OF role UPDATE 4/4 - placed on DL, retroactive to March 27, with an ankle sprain
Other Roster Candidates
OF Chip Ambres: career minor leaguer is insurance as a right-handed hitting OF off the bench in case Baldelli cannot stay healthy
In limbo
OF Brad Wilkerson: signed a minor league deal but should have a shot at the 25-man roster if the Sox go with two OF's off the bench UPDATE 3/29 - looks like he won't make the team
Released
C Josh Bard: should be solid acquisition if he can return to his pre-2008 form (.304 BA in 2006-07) UPDATE 3/18 - released by the Red Sox despite hitting .429 (6-for-14) this spring; the move comes nearly three years after the Sox traded him to the Padres because he couldn't catch Wakefield's knuckleball
Optioned to AAA
RHP Clay Buchholz: UPDATE 3/12 - has allowed just 1 baserunner in 5 IP this spring and could open in the rotation if Penny is not ready to start the season UPDATE 3/31 - most likely headed for AAA UPDATE 4/4 - optioned to AAA
Reassigned to Minor League Camp
OF Paul McAnulty: has crushed minor league pitching but it hasn't translated to success in the majors (.208 BA in 212 AB's)
IF Ivan Ochoa: primarily a SS in his 8-year minor league career, the switch-hitter made his ML debut with the Giants in '08 and hit .200 in 124 AB's UPDATE 3/15 - 26 year-old enters the race for a backup IF job with Lugo expected to start the season on the DL UPDATE 3/24 - reassigned to the minors
OF Jeff Bailey: huge AAA season (.301 BA, 25 HR, 75 RBI) should earn him a look in the spring UPDATE 3/11 - making a case for the final backup OF job with a huge spring thus far (11-for-21, 6 RBI's, 4 2B's) UPDATE 3/31 - beaten out by Carter for the last bench job; reassigned to the minors
Lost on waivers
RHP Wes Littleton: like many side-armers, his production has declined since a stellar rookie season (1.71 ERA in 33 appearances with Texas in 2006) UPDATE 3/17 - claimed on waivers from Boston, he's out of options so he must be placed on waivers again if he doesn't make the team
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14 comments:
Smoltz won't be back until June at the earliest by all reports, so the rotation spot is probably going to go to Brad Penny, with Clay Buchholz a dark horse candidate.
Injuries, or the lack thereof, will determine the level of success the Red Sox enjoy in 2009.
This team, as constructed could win 100 games or lose as many as 80, all dependent upon who plays injury free throughout most of the season. On paper, the Sox present a team with enormous depth, flexibility, defensive skill and pitching talent. Key stats for 2009? Team BA @ .285, 850 runs scored (versus opponents 600), 190 hrs., staff ERA of 3.60 rpg and 7.5 SO/9 innings.
Anonymous, thanks for the tip. Any update on Saito anywhere?
Saito is expected to be on the opening day roster. He did not have the recommended shoulder surgery, saying his age and length of rehab were factors. I wouldn't count on him being 75% for more than a couple of months.
Jason, ever consider posting how recently the depth charts have been updated? Maybe you could update the time/date after every significant roster change. That way viewers would know how current the depth chart is...
Good point on posting the updated dates and times. I was just trying to get to this point that I could launch the site and then every update from now on would have that info. I should be up-to-date unless I've missed anything minor. Thanks!
Barring any injuries, it should be interesting how the end of the bullpen breaks down. I'd love to see a healthy Saito in there over Littleton, but there is not much flexibility with no one in the pen with options left (except Masterson who is going no where). Having said that, these things have a way of working themselves out.
Miguel Gonzalez recently had Tommy John surgery, so the slim shot of pitching his way onto the team is now gone.
Thanks for the tip on Gonzalez.
Buchholz should at least be listed as a candidate, he has pitched well this spring. Penny was scratched from his first spring start on the 6th, he still hasn't thrown in a game and may start the year on the DL.
Daniel Bard will be in the pen. Kid has absolutely torched everyone so far.
Re: Daniel Bard
It's almost not fair that the Sox have so many good, young pitchers. The question is, who is the odd man out if Bard is in. He's definitely out-pitching Ramirez but the 'pen is so deep, they might just let Bard start the season in AAA instead of pitching in long relief.
You are missing OF/1B Chris Carter who is battling Jeff Bailey for the last spot in the bench.
Just to point out, it's JacobY Ellsbury, not Jacob Ellsbury.
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