Presenting the full list 2017 Roster Recaps, listed with the authors that wrote them. An asterisk denotes a player who has, as of March 13th, dearly departed the Red Sox. We’ll miss them all terribly.

Catchers

• Sandy Leon (Cam Ellis)
• Blake Swihart (Jake Devereaux)
• Christian Vazquez (Brett Cowett)

Infielders

• Xander Bogaerts (Chris Teeter)
• Chase d’Arnaud* (Matt Kory)
• Rafael Devers (Kory)
• Marco Hernandez (Cowett)
• Brock Holt (Devereaux)
• Tzu-Wei Lin (Cowett)
• Deven Marrero (Cowett)
• Mitch Moreland (Cowett)
• Eduardo Nunez (Teeter)
• Dustin Pedroia (Kory)
• Hanley Ramirez (Devereaux)
• Josh Rutledge* (Cowett)
• Pablo Sandoval* (Cowett)
• Sam Travis (Teeter)

Outfielders

• Andrew Benintendi (Ellis)
• Mookie Betts (Kory)
• Jackie Bradley Jr. (Cowett)
• Rajai Davis* (Daniel Poarch)
• Steve Selsky (Ellis)
• Chris Young* (Cowett)

Pitchers

• Fernando Abad* (Ellis)
• Matt Barnes (Cowett)
• Blaine Boyer* (Cowett)
• Roenis Elias (Poarch)
• Doug Fister* (Kory)
• Heath Hembree (Kory)
• Brian Johnson (Teeter)
• Joe Kelly (Ellis)
• Kyle Kendrick* (Poarch)
• Craig Kimbrel (Cowett)
• Austin Maddox (Ellis)
• Kyle Martin (Poarch)
• Drew Pomeranz (Ellis)
• Rick Porcello (Teeter)
• David Price (Ellis)
• Noe Ramirez* (Poarch)
• Addison Reed* (Ellis)
• Eduardo Rodriguez (Cowett)
• Robbie Ross* (Cowett)
• Chris Sale (Cowett)
• Robby Scott (Cowett)
• Carson Smith (Teeter)
• Ben Taylor (Cowett)
• Hector Velazquez (Devereaux)
• Brandon Workman (Ellis)
• Steven Wright (Kory)

Header photo by Winslow Townson — USA TODAY Sports

We had Robbie Ross and Robby Scott, two guys who both threw left handed, sported solid facial hair, and were ticketed for at least some LOOGY work in 2017, if not more than that. “The Robbys are warming up in the bullpen,” would be a good line. “Double-bearded action for the twin southpaws” would be another one. You’d know who they are the moment the line was said. Endless joke possibilities for a solid reliever who we’d supposedly see pitching often.

The Double Robby Funtime Era didn’t even last two months into the season. Fighting such maladies like the flu, ineffectiveness, elbow inflammation, and back issues, Ross cobbled together nine altogether bad innings in 2017. The Red Sox weren’t exactly prolific in deploying their left-handed relievers last year, but this was essentially a lost year for Ross.

What Went Right

Sometimes it’s really, really hard to find something good, especially when your total playing time is essentially the length of a single game. He didn’t give up a home run, that’s a good thing. More strikeouts than walks, also good. But by now you know I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel for good things to say, so here’s the only 2017 highlight MLB uploaded focusing on Robbie Ross. It’s not even a strikeout, but he did field his position well!

What Went Wrong

Where do we even begin? How about when he was used so sparingly that he got optioned to Pawtucket on April 28th for the bus riding expertise of Ben Taylor? Or do we open with the fact that the Rays scored five runs off of him in 4.2 innings combined? Maybe we can start with him having about two lengthy stints on the disabled list for three different things. Granted, we can’t really look into the actual performance too much, but there isn’t a lot to go on unless you want to lament on a year lost for him. Would he have made a major impact on this team’s performance? Probably not, but a good pitcher is useful nonetheless, and Ross was very solid in 2016. Even with a bullpen unit as good as the one the Red Sox had in 2017, you can never have too much pitching.

What To Expect

Ross is all but gone. He was released in early November, and we’ve heard very little since. The only notable nugget of news regarding him has been that the Blue Jays had some interest in him in early December. He’ll probably struggle to find anything lucrative on the free agent market, seeing as he’s coming off of back surgery, and that the free agent market is moving at a glacial pace right now. But Ross does indeed throw left handed and he has a heartbeat. Teams have taken chances on far less than that, but the Red Sox might not be the ones to gamble on him.

Photo by Patrick McDermott — USA TODAY Sports

Ben Taylor, however, looked like he’d avoid having a permanent seat on that bus. At the beginning of the year, Taylor made the Opening Day roster after a solid run in the Grapefruit League. He avoided having to stay in Portland and went straight to the majors. That’s pretty good!

That stint on the roster lasted until April 13th, when Robbie Ross recovered from having the flu. Then he was recalled on April 17th — and subsequently sent back down that same day. Taylor was again recalled on the 28th, and lasted a whole m0nth until being sent back to Pawtucket on May 28th. On July 19th, Taylor saw the majors yet again, but went down with an oblique strain and be placed on the 10-day disabled list on the 26th. The Red Sox activated him from that list on August 30th and immediately sent him to Pawtucket, only to be added when the rosters expanded the next day. That’s less a roller coaster and more a sine graph.

Now back to that hypothetical bus. There’s a seat on it, probably in the first few rows, right next to a window. It’s a little worn down, and the seat cushion is probably a little compressed. The seat next to it is relatively cleaner, as it mostly had a sport bag on it. Both have that generic grey-with-random-shapes pattern on it that you see in nearly every bus. At this point, you may be wondering, “why is this hack author describing a damn seat on a imaginary bus?”

Because that was Ben Taylor’s seat. And it very well still could be in 2018.

What Went Right

Taylor and his 95 mph heater joined the reliever corps on Opening Day, which nearly made the whole unit alike in that everyone in that group seemingly had a fastball that touched 95+ consistently. If anything, a fastball with that velocity is going to do some work for you, even if the rest of your repertoire is a work in progress. He did end up striking out 22.5 percent of the batters he faced in the majors, and even notched his first career save when a game in St. Louis lasted until the 13th inning.

Taylor got a save and struck out a fair few batters along the way. Can’t ask for much more from a guy who just made the majors.

What Went Wrong

His control wasn’t all there. Granted, it’s not something we should’ve expected considering his stats in the minors, but a 11.2 percent walk rate is pretty awful. Taylor’s slider and changeup still need work, but only one really needs to pan out for him to be an effective reliever. That’s not too high of an expectation, and it’s certainly possible he can be helpful — the issue is his control might not be good enough to make that matter. His 7.9 percent whiff rate is also concerning for a guy with a strikeout rate like the one he has, since it’s below average and means that he’s getting help from called strikes instead of getting more of the swinging variety. He did only throw 17.1 innings in the majors, so sound the small sample size klaxon, but it’s a bit of a red flag.

But the more obvious mark on his 2017 is that Taylor got lit up. Three homers in that 17.1-inning span sure makes your rates look terrible, and a 5.19 ERA with a 4.89 FIP qualify as such. He induced very little soft contact — only on 7.5 percent of all contact made — and nearly half his batted balls were fly balls. Combine that with the highest contact rate of all Red Sox relievers with 10 or more innings pitched (83.2 percent), and we’ve got batting practice. Fenway Park isn’t the place to be if that’s your thing.

What To Expect

Keep that bus seat warm. Taylor will need it.

Photo by Kirby Lee — USA TODAY Sports

Is this bullpen going to implode? 

It was always going to be a rough draft without Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith, but early returns have actually been somewhat promising. As a group, they’re 5th in all of baseball with a 2.60 FIP. They’re one of only four bullpens to not have given up a homer yet and are third-highest in K/9 (10.8). They’ve got Ben Taylor out here striking out half the dudes he faces. All in all, if this is what treading water looks like, the Sox will be thrilled.

The problem, because of course there’s a problem, is that the Red Sox basically haven’t had to use their bullpen yet. Of all 32 teams, none of have used their bullpen less than the Red Sox, who only have 15 innings of relief pitching under their belt so far. To put that in perspective, the Brewers lead baseball in relief innings pitched at 31.1. Early numbers also point towards a lot of walks (5.40 BB/9) and quite a bit of good of luck (.206 BABIP, second-lowest in MLB). The 8th and 9th innings are primarily just hard thrown fastballs going God knows where, but it’s worked so far.

Sandy Leon is fun again, again!

People say small sample sizes are dumb, but I would argue that when they allow me to write that the Red Sox catchers lead all of baseball with a 289 wRC+, small sample sizes are great. He leads the team in RBIs and is the only player to have a VORP over 1 (1.2).  The first Twitter rumblings of what to do with Blake Swihart showed up less than one week into the season. That’s how good Sandy Leon has been for the Sox so far.  And a walk-off home run, to boot.

He’ll hit well for three more weeks and then be the starter for the next seven after regardless of how he plays.

Please be okay, JBJ

Jackie Bradley Jr.’s been something else this year in center:

And then:

And then:

But then:

:(.

Initial x-rays were negative, but a MRI showed some swelling and the team sent him back to Boston, so that’s not great. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to hit the DL, but this certainly feels like the type of  lingering injury you point to in July when he’s hitting .190. He was one of the most valuable defensive center fielders in baseball last year, and looked to be even better with the glove (and the speed, and the ability to read balls off the bat and make cool sliding catches) this season, leading all center fielders in baseball with five Defensive Runs Saved.

What’s worse, is that he was crushing the ball this season. Of all qualified hitters, JBJ ranked fourth in line drive rate (41.7%) and first in hard-hit rate (81%!). He was also pacing five percentage points lower in strikeout rate this season (22.5%) than last (27.1%). It’s too early to make any definitive claims, but they’re still encouraging trends to continue watching. With that said, this team is probably good enough on offense to survive without him. Losing his defense, especially in Fenway’s centerfield, would be brutal.

The flu sucks

Go get your flu shot. Now.

Triple-A Pawtucket: Anthony Varvaro (RHP) and Ryan LaMarre (OF)

Anthony Varvaro does not fit the mould of the players we typically review in Fenway’s Future. He is not a prospect, but rather a 31-year old reliever who is working to get another chance in the major leagues. Varvaro pitched effectively for the Braves from 2012 to 2014, and got into nine games with the Red Sox last year before a torn flexor tendon ended his season in May. This season, Varvaro is again pitching effectively. In 27.0 innings for the PawSox he has only allowed eight runs, and has struck out more than one batter per inning. The strikeouts are promising but he also allowed 12 walks and already has four wild pitches, so his control is still a work in progress.

With the questions that loom regarding how the Red Sox’s bullpen will shake out over the next few weeks and Varvaro’s performance at Pawtucket thus far, he could get a call to come back to the big leagues soon. And if that call is going to happen, it needs to come now, as Varvaro had an opt-out in his contract that allowed him to leave the organization yesterday, June 15. Last week, Varvaro told Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal that he did not know what he was going to do about the opt-out, but he noted that he thought the Red Sox bullpen had plenty of options and was not in need an adjustment. However, given his previous major league experience and effectiveness, and current effectiveness in Triple-A, giving him a role in low-leverage innings could work out well. It is a small sample and almost nobody maintains reverse-splits over an extended period, but Varvaro has been tougher on lefties than he has on righties in his career. With this in mind, perhaps Varvaro could replace Tommy Layne. Then again, this might just be making a move for the sake of keeping Varvaro in the organization, while exposing Layne to other teams (he is out of options). Regardless, Varvaro is someone who should be considered to fill any opening that should arise in the Red Sox bullpen.

Left field is another area/position of the Red Sox that is in a state of flux. With injuries to Brock Holt and Blake Swihart, Chris Young has been forced into a starting role; a move that may be the best, as Rusney Castillo is still a mess at the plate (.245/.304/.320). Rather than Castillo, the Red Sox should consider adding PawSox center fielder Ryan LaMarre to their bench. LaMarre, a second round pick of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2010 draft, got a cup of coffee with the Reds last season before signing with the Red Sox as a free agent this past offseason. At Pawtucket he has performed very well. He has a .310/.377/.462 line, with five home runs and nine stolen bases in 13 tries. The stolen base success rate could be better, but otherwise those are solid numbers.

Adding LaMarre to the major league bench provides a versatile outfielder with speed; he is a center fielder but has played left and right field in the minors. The move also affords Castillo yet another chance to get regular plate appearances and work out all of the things that ail him. Castillo is not a major league ready player and it is really unlikely that he will become one by watching games on cushy major league benches. Adding LaMarre to the major league team requires adding him to the 40-man roster, which may be why the Red Sox have opted to shuttle Castillo back-and-forth, but the 40-man issue seems like a minor part of a decision that could help multiple components of the team.

Double-A Portland: Justin Haley (RHP)

At the end of the 2014 season, Justin Haley made six starts (37.2 innings) for the Sea Dogs and pitched well (1.19 RA9, 3.73 FIP). His fielding independent measure shows that he was basically the same guy in 2015 (3.83), but his runs allowed mark jumped significantly to an unimpressive 5.80. Much of the runs allowed difference was a result of a huge drop in strand rate. In 2014 only 4.9 percent of his baserunners eventually scored, while in 2015 that number was 37.3 percent. In 2016, Haley is pitching closer to his 2014 levels, which is good news for the organization. Over his twelve starts (61.1 innings), Haley has a 2.20 RA9 (2.58 FIP) with 59 strikeouts and only 19 walks. His strand rate, while high at 80.2 percent, is not dramatically above his career rate. Presently, he is in the midst of a really strong run. In eight of his last nine starts he has allowed one or fewer runs, the lone holdout a blow-up against Toronto’s affiliate in which he allowed four runs on two hits and four walks, while only recording one out. Ugly stuff. A positive from that outing is that he seems to have quickly put it behind him. His four starts since have all been strong. Coming off of his difficult 2015, in which he pitched well but allowed too many runs, Haley must be feeling better about his progress and ability to compete against quality opponents. If he continues to perform well a promotion to Pawtucket by season’s end could be in the cards.

Quick update on Andrew Benintendi (OF):

When we last checked in on Benintendi he was still adjusting to the Double-A level, having posted a .105/.150/.158 line in his first 20 PA. Since then he has a .268/.312/.394 line over his 77 PA, with a home run, a triple and four doubles. He seems to be adjusting to his new level quite well. Perhaps Benintendi can provide a Bogaertsian-2013 role for the Red Sox down the stretch and in playoff games this year.

High-A Salem: Ben Taylor (RHP)

Taylor, now a force out of the Salem bullpen, started the season as a starter. He made three starts to start the year, two of which went well. However, due to his overpowering fastball that registers in the upper-90s, the team felt he could be most effective in shorter outings as a reliever. The results suggest the team was not wrong. In his 30.0 relief innings, Taylor has only allowed six runs, while striking out 42 batters and only walking six. Seven-to-one is an incredible strikeout-to-walk ratio and one that foretells future success. It should be noted that Taylor’s move to the bullpen has not made him a one-inning-and-done guy. In fact he has yet to have a one inning appearance. He has made 11 appearances, on-average throwing 2.2 innings, and in two cases throwing four or more innings (4.0, 4.1, respectively). In that 4.0 innings outing, 10 of the 12 outs he recorded came via the strikeout. Clearly, he can be dominant. While it is not clear that this is the intention with Taylor (and others), I love the idea of the organization developing effective multi-inning relievers. They could change the way the big league roster is constructed, ideally allowing for a deeper, more versatile bench.

Quick updates on Yoan Moncada (2B) and Rafael Devers (3B):

Moncada’s season line has dropped since our last check-in, but it is still very impressive and strong enough for a promotion to Double-A soon. His season line currently sits at .299/.419/.466, with three home runs, three triples, 22 doubles, and 36 stolen bases in 44 tries.

Devers continues his up-and-down season. He seems to follow a couple of good games with a couple of bad ones. For example, last week he had back-to-back multi hit games, but then went 0-for-4 in each of the following two games. Regardless, there is progress. Over the last three weeks Devers has a .329/.368/.429 line, which is much more in line with expectations.

Low-A Greenville: Jose Almonte (RHP)

The 20-year old, Almonte has been another bright spot in the Drive’s rotation. His season started slower than he had hoped, as he was recovering from a hip/groin injury sustained during Spring Training, but since getting on the mound for regular reps he has shown what he can do. In six starts this season (31.0 innings) he holds a 2.90 RA9 (3.41 FIP), with 27 strikeouts and just 11 walks. His three pitch mix, mid-90s fastball, curveball and changeup have made him difficult for the opposition. For example, in his third start of the season, easily his best, Almonte held the Braves’ affiliate hitless over six scoreless innings; two walks kept him from registering a perfect appearance. With Almonte, and 18-year-olds Anderson Espinoza and Roniel Raudes, the Drive have an exciting mix of young pitching to track over the coming years.

Photo by Kelly O’Connor/www.sittingstill.smugmug.com