Steve Pearce to start season on injured list

The Gray Eagle

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Pearce is still not 100% after the calf injury he sustained back on St. Patrick's Day, and the Red Sox announced he will start the season on the IL. Pearce will miss at least the first 7 games of the season.

“He had plenty of at-bats in the minor leagues, so it just matters how he feels moving around,” Cora told the reporters (including Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald) before Monday’s game. “You guys know we’re not going to push him. We have to be smart about this because just to push him out there just because it’s Opening Day makes no sense for what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Pearce’s IL stint can backdated to three days before Opening Day, so it’s possible he could miss just seven games and return April 4 in Oakland. He’s one of two expected contributors to begin the year inactive, joining second baseman Dustin Pedroia."

Sam Travis will make the Opening Day roster.

Interesting that Travis is up. If they wanted to, the team could have kept all 3 catchers until Pearce is ready, with Holt backing up Moreland at first base for a little while. Swihart has also played some first base (only 10 games in the majors.)
Looks like they just decided to settle the catching situation now rather than postpone it for a week or so, and to keep an actual first baseman who is RH to face the 3 lefties we will see in the first 4 games.
 

DeadlySplitter

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this is unlucky. Travis is pretty much a AAAA player and this will hurt the lineup against lefties on this road trip. hopefully they get away with it in the small sample size.
 

The Raccoon

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Interesting that Travis is up. If they wanted to, the team could have kept all 3 catchers until Pearce is ready, with Holt backing up Moreland at first base for a little while. Swihart has also played some first base (only 10 games in the majors.)
Looks like they just decided to settle the catching situation now rather than postpone it for a week or so, and to keep an actual first baseman who is RH to face the 3 lefties we will see in the first 4 games.
I think they decided to go with CV and BS and if those two split the duties at C, there is nothing Leon will be able to contribute coming from the bench (Not as PH, not as PR, no other position than C...). And if they would prefer him at C over one of the other two, they would have kept him in the first place. Keeping him on the bench for 1-2 weeks would only help as an insurance, if one of the other two guys go to the IL before Steve "WS MVP" Pearce comes back.
Travis offers (as you said) help as PH and at 1st base (maybe even some OF?)
 

Ale Xander

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Brock Holt was the 1B in the ST finale v. Pitt. He's your backup at 1B not Travis, no? Travis becomes your PH and emergency guy.
 

bohous

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this is unlucky. Travis is pretty much a AAAA player and this will hurt the lineup against lefties on this road trip. hopefully they get away with it in the small sample size.
Travis should only ever hit vs LHP anyway. Like, ever.

vs LHP at PAW 2018 (95AB) .284 .367 .432

vs LHP Career MLB (65PA) .298 .385 .404
 

DeadlySplitter

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the primary lineup against righties is probably

Beni
Mookie
Devers
JDM
X
Moreland
Holt
JBJ
Swihart

just based on yesterday's lineup. while I would do this against lefties, roughly:

Beni
Mookie
Devers
JDM
X
Nunez
JBJ
Travis
Vaz

with catchers swapping more due to rotation than handedness. I don't think they'll do a lot of weird stuff at 1B out of the gate.