The Red Sox are good at baseball. And they have depth. And on September 1, they are going to have the opportunity to expand their roster to up to 40 players.
While no team ever actually does that, they do capitalize on the opportunity to bolster their team with some talented pieces who can help their team in the first wave of call-ups and in the second wave (when the PawSox season ends), they get everyone else. That’s usually how it works. Now, let’s take a look at who the Red Sox could call up.
(Note: David Price, Carson Smith, Blaine Boyer and Dustin Pedroia will be added to the Red Sox roster soon enough, but we will not count them as September call-ups because they are legitimate big leaguers.)
LOCKS
Hector Velazquez and Deven Marrero — Both were on the MLB roster on August 23 and got sent down. The right-handed depth starter and the defensive whiz will return.
Brian Johnson — The left-handed depth starter has a 4.33 ERA in 5 MLB starts this season.
Sam Travis — The right-handed power bat might be able to improve the lineup against left-handers slightly. He batted .279 with a .775 OPS in 18 games for the Red Sox so far.
MAYBES
Ben Taylor — He’s hurt right now, but the Red Sox do seem to like him. He has a 5.19 ERA in 14 MLB outings this season. Here, health is key. If he’s healthy, the righty is a lock.
Austin Maddox — The reliever has three scoreless outings for the Red Sox this season.
Tzu-Wei Lin — He’s playing some centerfield in PAW, but he hit .280 in 19 games in Boston and played a solid 3B.
EH
Kyle Martin — He’s on the 40-man roster, but has a 4.25 ERA in Pawtucket. He might be more of a DFA candidate than anything.
Justin Haley — Haley isn’t on the Red Sox 40-man roster, but he did make 10 relief outings for the Twins this season.
LONG SHOTS
Bobby Poyner — Poyner has a 1.05 ERA in 24 outings for the Sea Dogs this season. He’s a lefty and dominant in AA. At minimum, he’s a potential 2018 call-up.
Rusney Castillo — He’s doing good in AAA, but he is not on the 40-man roster.
Bryce Brentz — Bryce isn’t on the 40-man roster, but the righty has 30 homers in AAA this season.
Anyone I didn’t mention — Prob not. I see Henry Owens and Roenis Elias as more DFA candidates than anything.