2023 26-man final roster spots

I'm not sure why we would sign Rodriguez only to release him before he throws a pitch. Especially given that he's the only lefty reliever on the roster (besides possibly Taylor), I think his spot is safe.

My best guess is that we trade from the 40-man pitching depth when acquiring a middle IF, potentially someone in the Seabold or Winckowski bucket. A Dalbec trade wouldn't surprise me either. I could also see an Ort DFA if we need a spot.

I doubt we'd DFA Mills and try to sneak him to Worcester. It's not as if Wallace was the stud of studs, but it seems strange to give up a prospect to acquire a guy who you then immediately expose to waivers. If the 40 man is that tight, why not just stick with Wallace instead of trading for Mills? If Mills is enough of an upgrade over Wallace to justify the risk of losing him, he's probably also getting claimed if we DFA him.

Which better LHPs are we likely to acquire if not Rodriguez, though? Even if Taylor is a full go and effective, you typically want at least two lefties in the pen. Are there even any other LHP relief roster candidates? Paxton, Murphy, and Walter are the only other guys on the 40 man. I doubt Paxton will be in the pen and I doubt Murphy and Walter are even capable of showing enough in Spring Training to push the Sox into a DFA of Rodriguez. The roster will probably be just about set by then anyway. Maybe we sign a lefty reliever, but it feels weird to sign FA #1, DFA him, and sign FA #2 when FA #2 has been out there the whole time. Maybe they lose the game of musical chairs and their market value drops enough for it to make sense? Seems very unlikely.

I understand that it is common to trade for a player and then DFA him, but when you're trading one reliever for another, both of whom on paper don't seem particularly impressive, why bother unless Mills is a clear upgrade over Wallace? This is oversimiplifying, but in order for that to make sense, Wallace needs to be worth less than (Mills * the odds of Mills not being claimed) + (anything we claw back in a trade * the odds of trading Mills following a DFA) - any 40 man casualties / moves resulting from Mills' acquisition. That says to be that the Sox are probably higher on Mills than his numbers on paper would suggest, and that in turn says to me that they probably aren't the only ones.

I already partially responded to the question in the thread, but I'm happy to get more specific. I basically agree with your guess: I think we will make a trade for a middle IF with a package including one or more guys from the back of the 40 man (Seabold, Winckowski, Dalbec, Duran). That could be a Wendle or Rojas type, as has been rumored. My best guess would be Wendle, as I like his versatility and his LH bat makes sense given Arroyo and likely RH bat as the other middle IF. I could also see an Andrus signing. That would give us a starting middle IF of Andrus and an Arroyo/Wendle platoon. I'd expect we'd still have in the $5 million ballpark of room under the CBT. If a DFA is necessary, which I think is likely, I'd say the first guy up is Ort.

The only question then is who would get the final spot on the bench. I think the odds-on favorite for that spot is Duran, given his speed and his (alleged) ability to play the OF.

Why do you think he’ll relieve? It seems like they are really counting on him as a starter. Just curious.

He hasn't pitched much recently and they do have a lot of guys who could potentially be in the rotation, so using him in a piggyback/swingman-type of role could make some sense.

Red Sox currently have Sale/Kluber/Pivetta/Whitlock/Bello penciled in as their 5 starters. Given the amount of time Paxton has missed, either a BP role or piggy-back (with Whitlock) seems most likely.

Paxton is 34, hasn't pitched in 2 years and has only pitched 21.2 innings over the past 4 years. He also has (had) stuff that should play up in the bullpen.

Please refrain from the troll-ish comments. Thanks.

I endorse Greg Allen as the last guy on the bench. I got zero interest in Duran and Dalbec in the majors unless they mash in Worcester for a while.  I am worried that Duran is going to start the year on the 26 man roster, unfortunately.

One MI needs to be added (Andrus). Then they have their choice between standing pat with an Arroyo/Valdez platoon at 2b, acquiring another MI, or acquiring a CF.

With the recent signings, seems like Duvall takes one of the infield slots (pushing Kiké to more of a time share) while Tapia/Duran/Allen fight for the last outfield slot.

Then Alfaro battles Wong for the last catcher slot.

That leaves one middle infield slot open with Edwin Diaz as the best inhouse candidate. Guessing we still get another SS option - perhaps it will materialize once pitchers/catchers report so there's more temporary 40-man space.

Will be interesting to see how the relief pitcher crunch works itself out.

Nitpick here but I would think Goodrum would be the in-house favorite vs. Diaz for the spot, I'd have Valdez above him too. I expect them to add a guy though so it's probably moot. 

Crawford starts the year in the Worcester rotation as the first guy up in case of injury.

Adalberto Mondesi gives the Red Sox an interesting middle infield option, but he’s still rehabbing from last year’s knee injury and might not be on the roster when the team breaks camp.

“There is still a ways to go with that,” chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said this week. “Our expectation is that he may be a little delayed to start the season, but Opening Day is still a possibility.”


theathletic.com/4131376/2023/01/29/eight-questions-red-sox/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983