May as well start this one since Jon Abbey just did the Yankee version.
The Sox have a much tougher than normal September with 5 series remaining against playoff level opponents. They can basically play a lot worse and still mathematically seal the #1 with more than a week remaining. This month is mostly about resting regulars. But they have a pretty deep bullpen bench so it should also improve the pitching.
Catcher - The extra catcher is obvious. If Vazquez is healthy it's him. Otherwise it's Butler. The interesting thing to watch is how much the former plays compared to Leon the way Sandy has been rolling.
Infield - Lin seems like a lock. With Kinsler now healthy, once Devers returns they'll be up two total infielders. X hasn't crashed and burned this half yet, so it'll be nice to keep that up and get him off his feet some more. 2b has already been split and Pearce can always play more 1b if needed. Tony Renda is still there but I doubt he'll be up unless there are injuries.
Outfield - I'll put Lin here as well since he has been playing CF. They don't have any legitimate outfielders in AAA but are covered by Holt and to a lesser degree Pearce. Sam Travis is a possibility too if he plays LF but he is redundant.
Pitchers - They'll be adding Rodriguez soon. So Johnson will probably move to the pen, though I guess it's possible that guy is Eovaldi instead. I'm sure we'll see 3 or 4 more arms on top of that. And there are way more than 4 candidates. Bobbie Poyner has pitched well most of the year, so he's probably one of them. William Cuevas and Justin Haley are multi inning guys they can abuse. Less likely are Marcus Walden, Robby Scott, and Chandler Shepherd.
There are a few other wild cards who may be assets but haven't been added yet. Travis Lakins has been great between AA and Pawtucket as well as Matthew Gorst who finally gave up earned runs after a lengthy scoreless streak. There is a spot on the 40 man still.
For injured guys, I think the clock has run out on Wright. Austin Maddox finally started rehabbing again. He was one of their better pitchers down the stretch last year and made the division series roster. Unless there are multiple injuries I think he lost his shot. I'm not seeing Durbin Feltman making it up either.
The Sox have a much tougher than normal September with 5 series remaining against playoff level opponents. They can basically play a lot worse and still mathematically seal the #1 with more than a week remaining. This month is mostly about resting regulars. But they have a pretty deep bullpen bench so it should also improve the pitching.
Catcher - The extra catcher is obvious. If Vazquez is healthy it's him. Otherwise it's Butler. The interesting thing to watch is how much the former plays compared to Leon the way Sandy has been rolling.
Infield - Lin seems like a lock. With Kinsler now healthy, once Devers returns they'll be up two total infielders. X hasn't crashed and burned this half yet, so it'll be nice to keep that up and get him off his feet some more. 2b has already been split and Pearce can always play more 1b if needed. Tony Renda is still there but I doubt he'll be up unless there are injuries.
Outfield - I'll put Lin here as well since he has been playing CF. They don't have any legitimate outfielders in AAA but are covered by Holt and to a lesser degree Pearce. Sam Travis is a possibility too if he plays LF but he is redundant.
Pitchers - They'll be adding Rodriguez soon. So Johnson will probably move to the pen, though I guess it's possible that guy is Eovaldi instead. I'm sure we'll see 3 or 4 more arms on top of that. And there are way more than 4 candidates. Bobbie Poyner has pitched well most of the year, so he's probably one of them. William Cuevas and Justin Haley are multi inning guys they can abuse. Less likely are Marcus Walden, Robby Scott, and Chandler Shepherd.
There are a few other wild cards who may be assets but haven't been added yet. Travis Lakins has been great between AA and Pawtucket as well as Matthew Gorst who finally gave up earned runs after a lengthy scoreless streak. There is a spot on the 40 man still.
For injured guys, I think the clock has run out on Wright. Austin Maddox finally started rehabbing again. He was one of their better pitchers down the stretch last year and made the division series roster. Unless there are multiple injuries I think he lost his shot. I'm not seeing Durbin Feltman making it up either.
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