Major League Baseball’s postseason begins in a week. The Boston Red Sox won’t play their first playoff game until Friday, Oct. 5, when they host Game 1 of the American League Division Series against either New York or Oakland at Fenway Park.
Boston Manager Alex Cora has some decisions to make. While the Red Sox have won as many games as any in the franchise’s history, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the team. There are questions surrounding the bullpen, the rotation and the bench.
Over the weekend, Cora said there won’t be much auditioning going on over these final days of the season. He said the team already knows what its players can do and that he won’t be making snap decisions based on late-season performance. That came as a surprise to most of us in the media.
“It’s wide open for you guys,” Cora told reporters on Friday. “I have a pretty good idea where we’re going.”
For now, we’ll have to guess. So I’ll do exactly that. Here are the 25 men who would make my roster for a best-of-five ALDS, with a few notes along the way:
STARTING PITCHERS
Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovaldi.
Sale and Price are no-brainers. Sale would start Game 1 and, potentially, Game 5. Price would also be available out of the bullpen for Game 5 on full rest. Porcello struggled down the stretch but you need to have right-handed starters for Games 3 and 4 if they are at Yankee Stadium. That’s why I have Eovaldi pitching Game 4. If Oakland should beat New York you might want to go with Eduardo Rodriguez as the fourth starter.
RELIEF PITCHERS
Craig Kimbrel, Matt Barnes, Ryan Brasier, Eduardo Rodriguez, Steven Wright, Brandon Workman and Joe Kelly.
Heath Hembree, Bobby Poyner and Hector Velazquez were all left off my list. And all three have been extremely important pitchers during this historic season. Kelly deserves a spot in the bullpen if Cora is sincere in his philosophy that the bullpen will be chosen based on its full season of work. He didn’t hurt himself any Saturday night in Cleveland when he came on in the 10th inning with two on and nobody out. Two strikeouts and a groundout later he was finished with a scoreless inning and renewed hopes that he can harness his velocity and secondary pitches to succeed in high-leverage situations.
Poyner didn’t make my list because in this scenario Rodriguez is in the bullpen. If Cora opted to use E-Rod as a starter, with Eovaldi in the bullpen, I may have to get Poyner in there as a lefty-on-lefty specialist. That would bump either Kelly or Workman out of the mix.
One final note – in a seven-game series the Sox would probably add a reliever. So if Boston advances beyond the first round, one of the pitchers on the bubble would make it into the second round, with a position player (one of the catchers?) coming out.
OUTFIELDERS/DH
Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, Jr. and J.D. Martinez.
INFIELDERS
Mitch Moreland, Ian Kinsler, Xander Bogaerts and Brock Holt.
Brock Holt has been one of Boston’s hottest hitters in September and should be in the lineup. With Eduardo Nunez battling an injury and Rafael Devers a defensive liability, third base would be the perfect place for Holt to play.
CATCHERS
Sandy Leon, Christian Vazquez, and Blake Swihart.
Cora has made it clear he’s keeping three catchers. Swihart caught Rick Porcello on Saturday night for the first time all season. That could be an indication that he will get a chance to get some catching duties come October.
RESERVES
Eduardo Nunez, Steve Pearce, and Rafael Devers.
Pearce will be starting at first against lefties. Nunez might start at third if healthy, or come in as a defensive replacement for Devers if he gets the start. The 21-year old homered in back-to-back games over the weekend, and might get into the starting lineup on the strength of his bat.
In the end, the Red Sox have several areas of uncertainty, which is not what you expect from a team with more than 100 wins. They’ve also got depth and multiple options to fill those questions. And that is exactly what you’d expect from a good team.
Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.