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State of the Sox: Roster competition limited to the margins for Red Sox
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- State of the Sox: Roster competition limited to the margins for Red Sox
FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the Red Sox , as with most organizations, the time for change was last winter — not now.
When the Red Sox made three significant trades and one major free agent signing in the offseason, they were pretty much done with the heavy lifting.
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In spring training, they’re left with only some light housecleaning.
Now that there’s less than two weeks to go before the start of the regular season, the Red Sox are working around the proverbial margins. There are no decisions left about the everyday lineup or the starting rotation.
Here’s a look at what’s still at stake as they come down the stretch:
BACKUP CATCHER: Carlos Narvaez is the clear No. 1 catcher and Connor Wong the incumbent backup. Two veteran catchers — Matt Thaiss and Jason Delay — remain in camp as non-roster invitees.
In many ways, 2025 was a lost year for Wong. He began the year as the starter, broke a bone in his hand and was sidelined for two months . While he recovered, Narvaez won the job. Even when Wong returned, he was never quite right, as his .500 OPS attests.
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He’s not been any better with the bat this spring. After going hitless in three trips Thursday, he’s just 2-for-23 (.087), and while ordinarily less than two dozen Grapefruit League at-bats wouldn’t cost anyone their job, the Sox might be willing to experiment here.
It’s known that they have tried to upgrade the catching position even after the emergence of Narvaez last year. That they’ve failed to do so is not for a lack of effort.
The Sox could conceivably give the left-handed hitting Thaiss a look in the early going while stashing Wong at Worcester (he has an option remaining).
That’s probably a long shot, however, as there’s something to be said for Wong’s familiarity with the pitching staff.
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UTILITY INFIELD: Isiah Kiner-Falefa can claim one spot, but the other depth spot remains up for grabs.
That’s a role that would otherwise go to Romy Gonzalez , but he’s yet to recover from a shoulder injury that dates back to September. The Red Sox confirmed late Thursday that Gonzalez underwent an “arthroscopic debridement.” He is on the 60-day injured list and ruled out for roughly the first two months of the regular season.
That leaves Andruw Monasterio and Nick Sogard as the principal challengers. Sogard has a bit of an incumbency edge, having gotten into 61 games with the Sox over the last two years as an up-and-down infield option. He’s not much of a threat with the bat (career OPS+ of 85), but he’s either league average or a little better at several infield positions and is athletic enough to help out in the outfield, too. It’s worth remembering that he was in the starting lineup for two of the team’s three postseason games last fall.
Monasterio is new to the club, having been part of the Caleb Durbin trade last month, and can lay claim to some success against lefties, having posted an .837 OPS against them with Milwaukee last year.
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Give a slight edge to Monasterio, who probably possesses a higher ceiling. But don’t rule out Sogard completely.
BULLPEN: Aroldis Chapman , Garrett Whitlock , Justin Slaten and Greg Weissert are locks; Zack Kelly and Jovani Moran are close to locks.
Newcomer Danny Coulombe is another, though it remains an open question whether he’ll be ready for Opening Day. For the purposes of this exercise, let’s say that he is.
A handful of others are disqualified from this competition, either by role or health. The organization wants Connelly Early and Payton Tolle to continue starting at Triple A rather than contributing in relief, while both Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval have yet to pitch in game settings this spring.
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That leaves room for just one more relievers, and it’s here that we run into what is inarguably the weakest spot on the roster. Every one of the remaining options is flawed in one way or another.
That group includes Kyle Keller , Noah Song , Ryan Watson, Tayron Guerrero , Seth Martinez and Tyler Samaniego .
Keller spent the previous four seasons in Japan and is looking to see some of his success there translate to MLB. Song, 28, was first drafted by the Red Sox seven seasons ago, and saw his career slowed by Navy commitments and Tommy John Surgery. He’s appeared in just three games as high as Triple A, but is unscored upon in five outings while showing improved velocity.
Watson is a Rule 5 selection, but has allowed six runs over six appearances. Whitlock and Slaten are two other Rule 5 success stories on the roster, but Watson looks to need more development time.
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Samaniego has potential and it would be nice to carry another lefty, but he’s yet to pitch above Double A and there’s no rush to have him face big league pitching.
Guerrero has hit triple digits on radar guns this spring, but needs work on his secondary pitches. Martinez is the most experienced of the bunch, with a career ERA of 4.00 over parts of five seasons. As a bonus, he could be counted on to deliver multiple innings, something the Sox have prioritized as a bullpen need in the first month of the season.
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