I started writing this in the "What does 2023 look like?" thread, but remembered that more threads are often better. So consider this a spinoff from that thread.
Some of the predictions that people are making in that thread suggest a vision of a 2023 Red Sox roster that is pretty similar to the current one. I am not sure that I share that expectation. We have a number of key departing players, a ton of money to spend in Free Agency, and for the first time in awhile a bit of a prospect hoard that might make unambiguously buy-type trades possible.
I also realized that I wasn't actually sure anyone really expected the same group. Maybe it's one poster suggesting retaining Wacha or Eovaldi, somebody else suggests bringing back JD, and a third person is proposing Refsnyder at DH: those aren't necessarily the same people.
So here's a discussion question: how much 40-man roster turnover do we expect? Not how much would we aim for if we were running Baseball Operations, but how much we expect Chaim and BOH and Raquel and the rest of the gang to change things.
Below I have listed the 45 players on the 40-man roster plus the 5 players currently on the 60-day IL. I've organized them a bit under a few headings; quibbles as to headings are reasonable, especially since I am not crystal clear about a few edge cases. How many of these guys do we expect to be on the 40-man + 60-man IL as of Opening Day 2023? We can check back when the team heads North and see how we did.
Some are obvious. We presume Chris Sale will begin next season on the 60-man IL *rimshot*.
This list is as of the last day of the regular season, because that's what baseball-reference.com had. But two players have already been removed from the roster: Abraham Almonte and Eduard Bazardo. It is not inconceivable that either or both could be back — decent-but-not-great RHRPs like Bazardo ping pong on and off rosters all the time — but I think it's safe to say that the bidding begins at 2.
(To be clear, I don't think the extreme choices are especially likely, but it seemed like the best way to organize it.)
Pitchers
Under Contract or Team Control
Zack Kelly
John Schreiber
Kaleb Ort
Matt Barnes
Franklin German
Darwinzon Hernandez
Ryan Brasier
Brayan Bello
Garrett Whitlock
Kutter Crawford
Josh Taylor
Tanner Houck
Easton McGee
Tyler Danish
Bryan Mata
Josh Winckowski
Connor Seabold
Nick Pivetta
Pending Options
Chris Sale
James Paxton
Not Under Contract
Michael Wacha
Nathan Eovaldi
Eduard Bazardo
Rich Hill
Matt Strahm
Position Players
Under Contract or Team Control
Reese McGuire
Rafael Devers
Triston Casas
Yu Chang
Alex Verdugo
Connor Wong
Bobby Dalbec
Christian Arroyo
Enrique Hernandez
Eric Hosmer
Trevor Story
Rob Refsnyder
Ronaldo Hernandez
Jeter Downs
Jarren Duran
Franchy Cordero
Pending Options
Tommy Pham
Xander Bogaerts
Not Under Contract
J.D. Martinez
Abraham Almonte
Some of the predictions that people are making in that thread suggest a vision of a 2023 Red Sox roster that is pretty similar to the current one. I am not sure that I share that expectation. We have a number of key departing players, a ton of money to spend in Free Agency, and for the first time in awhile a bit of a prospect hoard that might make unambiguously buy-type trades possible.
I also realized that I wasn't actually sure anyone really expected the same group. Maybe it's one poster suggesting retaining Wacha or Eovaldi, somebody else suggests bringing back JD, and a third person is proposing Refsnyder at DH: those aren't necessarily the same people.
So here's a discussion question: how much 40-man roster turnover do we expect? Not how much would we aim for if we were running Baseball Operations, but how much we expect Chaim and BOH and Raquel and the rest of the gang to change things.
Below I have listed the 45 players on the 40-man roster plus the 5 players currently on the 60-day IL. I've organized them a bit under a few headings; quibbles as to headings are reasonable, especially since I am not crystal clear about a few edge cases. How many of these guys do we expect to be on the 40-man + 60-man IL as of Opening Day 2023? We can check back when the team heads North and see how we did.
Some are obvious. We presume Chris Sale will begin next season on the 60-man IL *rimshot*.
This list is as of the last day of the regular season, because that's what baseball-reference.com had. But two players have already been removed from the roster: Abraham Almonte and Eduard Bazardo. It is not inconceivable that either or both could be back — decent-but-not-great RHRPs like Bazardo ping pong on and off rosters all the time — but I think it's safe to say that the bidding begins at 2.
(To be clear, I don't think the extreme choices are especially likely, but it seemed like the best way to organize it.)
Pitchers
Under Contract or Team Control
Zack Kelly
John Schreiber
Kaleb Ort
Matt Barnes
Franklin German
Darwinzon Hernandez
Ryan Brasier
Brayan Bello
Garrett Whitlock
Kutter Crawford
Josh Taylor
Tanner Houck
Easton McGee
Tyler Danish
Bryan Mata
Josh Winckowski
Connor Seabold
Nick Pivetta
Pending Options
Chris Sale
James Paxton
Not Under Contract
Michael Wacha
Nathan Eovaldi
Eduard Bazardo
Rich Hill
Matt Strahm
Position Players
Under Contract or Team Control
Reese McGuire
Rafael Devers
Triston Casas
Yu Chang
Alex Verdugo
Connor Wong
Bobby Dalbec
Christian Arroyo
Enrique Hernandez
Eric Hosmer
Trevor Story
Rob Refsnyder
Ronaldo Hernandez
Jeter Downs
Jarren Duran
Franchy Cordero
Pending Options
Tommy Pham
Xander Bogaerts
Not Under Contract
J.D. Martinez
Abraham Almonte
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