The performance of the pitching depth has been the most surprising, as Johnson and Hector Velazquez have combined to allow just two runs in 11.2 innings pitched. They’ve taken care of business where business needed to happen: in Florida, against both the Rays and the Marlins. Granted, we’re not talking turn-of-the-decade-Yankees juggernauts here, but outings like that are always very positive, especially in an environment where baseballs are being launched into the stands more than ever. Eduardo Rodriguez came back a little earlier than expected and had middling results for the first game, and with Drew Pomeranz still about a week away from returning, we’ll be seeing a little more of Johnson, with Velazquez in the bullpen for now.

On the position player side, that depth is about to get tested. Eduardo Nunez is a bench guy already playing due to Dustin Pedroia recovering from knee surgery, but as far as bench players getting a lot of playing time, he’s really the only one. That’s about to change, thanks to the weird, freak injury Xander Bogaerts suffered on Sunday. At first glance, it seemed like a rolled ankle or something just as innocuous, but it was a fair bit worse than that:

Red Sox announce Xander Bogaerts to DL with “small crack” in talus bone

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) April 9, 2018

Well, that’s a bummer. Thankfully, it’s looking like two weeks until Bogaerts returns. I really feel like crediting the Red Sox for actually letting Bogaerts heal up this time, but that seems like the sort of thing they should do in the first place, not let them play for three months with a bad wrist.

And so the Sox look for a stand-in. Deven Marrero is long gone, as he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks towards the end of Spring Training. Tzu-Wei Lin was called up to take Bogaerts’ roster spot, and he can play both middle infield positions, but he’ll probably take a backseat at shortstop to Eduardo Nunez, while he and Brock Holt trade off at second base. No one else can readily play shortstop for the Red Sox at the moment, and you can’t really count on Marco Hernandez showing up anytime soon, as he’s on the 60-day disabled list, and won’t appear in game action until the end of May. Mitch Moreland is strictly a first baseman, and Blake Swihart is a catcher with corner infield experience in a pinch. There’s not much past Nunez, Lin, and Holt for middle infielders, unless you want to go deep into the minors.

The quality of the middle infielders is just alright. I’d like to be higher on these guys, but we’ve seen their shortcomings. Nunez is fine, Holt is an uninspiring player nowadays, and there’s a pretty wide range of outcomes for Lin should he play a lot over the next couple weeks. I’d honestly like to see more Lin and less Holt, but I’ve been very down on Holt for a long while — with good reason! — so I feel that’s more of a personal preference. Either way, there’s going to be a lot of shuffling around second base.

The Bogaerts injury really forces them to dig deep for infielders, and it’s not like this is a common occurrence.

Injuries like this are really testing the Red Sox early on. It’s not a test to see if they can keep up their winning ways or production — they have above-average regulars at nearly every position. The Bogaerts injury really forces them to dig deep for infielders, and it’s not like this is a common occurrence. Bogaerts is a pretty healthy player, as he’s played 144 games or more in every season since he took hold of a starting job in 2014, so it’s not as if the Sox were lax in looking for a backup here. Bogaerts doesn’t often go down like this, and if it wasn’t already obvious, the “Bogaerts is soft!” complaint doesn’t really hold up.

The Red Sox were more prepared to cover for Pedroia’s absence instead, but with Bogaerts’ injury, it forces them to spread that depth thin across two positions, and potentially field someone like Holt for a not-inconsequential amount of time. That’s a sub-par outcome, for reasons including his poor production in the last two years. But this is what happens when depth is needed, especially for someone that really never needs a break — you’re forced to use guys who aren’t always cut out to be starters at certain positions. It’s times like this when you miss Marrero’s defense, even if that meant biting the bullet when it came to his offense.

This could all just be handwringing. It’s only two weeks or so! The Nunez-Holt-Lin hydra could perform spectacularly and emulate Johnson’s and Velazquez’s starts to the season. That is also possible! All of these players have had very notable runs of success before, for example: Brock Holt, 2015 American League All-Star. Personally, I’d fall on the pessimist side of things here, if only because I keep low expectations in general.

But this is why depth exists. None of them are supposed to be as good as the starter, or else they’d be, y’know, starting. The Red Sox are a stacked team with a lot of good players, and having one of the starting nine be “just alright” won’t trip them up, but it’s probably going to be a bit bland without Bogaerts out there. At least he’ll be back soon, and we can worry no more.

Photo by Greg M. Cooper — USA TODAY Sports

Interesting spring for Devers
42 PA, 3 HR, 3 2B, 3B, 0 BB, 4 K, 1.000 OPS

— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) March 20, 2018

I get that the account is referencing the fact that over 42 spring training at-bats, Devers had yet to walk, and even if that’s not actually that interesting, it got me thinking about what a good 2018 from Rafael Devers looks like.

As a quick refresher: Devers hit .284/.338/.482 in 240 plate appearances over 52 games. He crushed that shot off Chapman at Yankee Stadium in the top of the 9th inning to go along with the other nine less memorable homers. He posted a 111 wRC+, .344 wOBA, and looked surprisingly ready for major-league pitching for a 12-year-old. With that said, it wasn’t perfect. He swung at a lot of pitches, many of which were not strikes. He posted a swing percentage four percentage points higher than league average, yet only swung at strikes at a league-average clip.

It’s tempting to look at Devers’ numbers and think about what he could do with 150-ish healthy games under his belt. His offensive potential seems to a central focus this spring, and rightfully so. I think there’s a case to be made, however, that improving his defense is what’s most important towards maximizing his value to this year’s team.

By my count, Devers is the Red Sox’s fifth-most important hitter as it stands currently. The top tier belongs to Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, followed by Xander Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi in no specific order. Mitch Moreland and Hanley Ramirez cancel each other out, while Jackie Bradley Jr. and Christian Vasquez provide more value on the defensive end, with the occasional hot streak sprinkled in every few weeks. Devers matching last year’s offensive production out of the middle/bottom of the order, as a 21-year-old, would be a dream come true.

Strengthening the left side of the Red Sox’ defense, however, would be more important to this team this year. Xander Bogaerts has a good glove by some metrics and a bad one by others, which is tremendously unhelpful. Bogaerts is undoubtedly a major-league shortstop, but it’s just a matter of how good of one. Andrew Benintendi has some work to do in left field, too. Neither are horrendous at their positions, but I’d be a lot more comfortable if the entire left side of the Red Sox defense wasn’t shaky at best.

Even if Devers spends long stretches of this year in a slump, the Red Sox offense should be able to carry the team into the postseason. If Devers continues playing the type of defense that gets him demoted for Deven Marrero during the playoffs, the team’s going to suffer. I love Brock Holt as much as the next guy, but depending on Holt to hold down a position for large chunks of the season just isn’t realistic anymore. Eduardo Nunez and his bad knees need to be ready to replace Dustin Pedroia and his bad knees. I’ll believe the Blake Swihart experiment when I see it outside of Florida backfields. Third base is firmly Devers’ this year, and his progression on defense is what the Red Sox need the most from him this season.

But if he wants to hit more homers off Chapman, that’s fine too.

Photo by Kim Klement — USA TODAY Sports

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

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and — oh god, we haven’t done Deven Marrero yet. The 49th man. And now the clouds are coming back and the birds have gone silent. Just one more, I thought to myself. Just one more.

Deven Marrero with a glove is silk. He’s one of those players that will make even the toughest of plays seem routine, like he had been preparing his whole life for that one hard-hit grounder to go that far to his right. There’s a subtle pleasure in watching a great fielder do great fielding things, and if that’s your drug, Marrero is your fix. Inject it into our veins.

Deven Marrero with a bat? Well, if you can imagine what a disgusted recoil sounds like, that’s pretty much all you need to know.

What Went Right

The Red Sox, in their pre-Devers days, had a bit of crisis with finding a third baseman that could actually produce any kind of value. Pablo Sandoval, Josh Rutledge, and Marco Hernandez all tried their best, but due to injuries, ineffectiveness, or a combination of the two, none of them could produce. That’s where Marrero comes in. If their third baseman wasn’t going to get hits, it might as well take them away, and oh boy can Marrero do that.

Marrero’s defensive prowess got him 364 innings at third base, along with 106.2 innings at other positions in the infield. That includes 2.2 innings at first base, which he can now field, apparently. It’s only a matter of time until the Red Sox will only require a pitcher, a catcher, and Deven Marrero in the field.

We know how horrifying his hitting is, but he did have one bright spot.

That’s a two-homer game. Against Jose Quintana. Baseball is simply magical.

What Went Wrong

188 plate appearances might be good for Marrero on a personal level, but that was a canary in a coal mine for the Red Sox. If someone with Marrero’s offensive prowess was getting that much playing time in the majors, something — more specifically, third base — was very wrong. Marrero slashed .211/.259/.333 with a 32.4 percent strikeout rate, which looks as awful as it is. That comes out to a .215 TAv. He did hit four home runs, which technically counts as a power surge, if you’re looking for the thinnest silver lining possible.

Even his time at third base didn’t last very long, all things considered. Tzu-Wei Lin, who was called up directly from Double-A Portland, overtook him at the hot corner in late June.

Good thing the Red Sox have Rafael Devers.

What To Expect

Marrero is going to be involved in the second base carousel until Dustin Pedroia returns, so he’ll most likely stick with the team for a good while. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. His glove will keep him hovering around the majors, and maybe even start for a team desperate for anything at second base, shortstop, or third base. Right now, he looks to be part of the well-stocked depth the Red Sox have, and with no offense to be found, it isn’t likely that he’ll be much more than that. He’s good for a sparkling defensive play or two, but this is who he is.

Photo by Patrick McDermott — USA TODAY Sports

Smart teams will trade any player if the return is right. You wouldn’t say Mookie Betts is available but if the Angels called and offered Mike Trout for Betts, you’d make that trade immediately. Swihart isn’t Trout and Swihart isn’t Betts either, so of course, listen to the offers. Swihart is 26 (has been for almost a week) and has played in just 116 games over the last two seasons due to injuries, with most of those coming in the minor leagues. He’s also out of options, meaning the team can’t send him to the minors without risking losing him for nothing to any team willing to snap him up. It seems, based on McAdam’s reporting, that there are many teams who would do just that. Swihart, then, will have to stay on the major league roster, or the Sox may as well deal him.

Depending on the return, perhaps they should. The roster is certainly set up to handle being Swihartless. Between Brock Holt and Deven Marrero, the entire infield and outfield are accounted for — not that Holt would play center or right field, but the team has three outfielders who could move around if someone was hurt, necessitating Brock Holt: Outfielder. Also, there’s Marco Hernandez, whose shoulder is still hurt but who should be back from the DL at some point. Probably. Maybe. We hope. When he does, he’s capable of playing all over the infield and hitting some as well. So what do the Red Sox need with a player like Swihart who offers more of the same?

Pardon me for getting all metaphysical and stuff on you, but maybe it’s not depth that the Red Sox should be searching for after all. The Red Sox possess perhaps the best and certainly the most versatile outfield in baseball. All three guys, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, and Mookie Betts, can play any outfield position, thank you very much. That means as long as two of them are healthy, all the Red Sox need is a left fielder, and they have that in J.D. Martinez. The numbers tell us Martinez is an atrocious outfielder, but he’s also relatively young and athletic, and has suffered from various injuries through the previous few seasons which could and likely did negatively impact his performance in the outfield, injuries which he’s since recovered from. But even if you can’t blame it on injuries and Martinez is that bad, if he’s that bad in the smallest outfield in baseball and only very occasionally then that’s fine.

In the infield, the Sox have two first basemen in Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland, Eduardo Nunez who can play second, short, or third, Xander Bogaerts who plays short but could play third if something catastrophic happened, and Rafael Devers who plays third so he can do catastrophic things to Yankee relief pitchers. Then there’s the aforementioned Marrero, Holt, and, eventually, Hernandez. But wait there’s more because when Dustin Pedroia comes back, that frees up Nunez to play all over the place as well.

Clearly the Red Sox have depth. They have depth for their depth. What I’m saying is their depth is deep. While they don’t lack in quality starters however, and they have all the deepest depth, the quality of that depth is questionable. Hernandez is out and will be out for a while with no return date yet known. Pedroia should be back in May, but maybe not, and as long as he’s out Nunez will be stapled to second base (hopefully not literally), limiting his ability to provide depth. Marrero’s hitting is the inverse of his fielding, and as his fielding is very good, that makes his hitting very bad. Holt was once the poor man’s Ben Zobrist, but that was three-to-five concussions ago. How comfortable would you be with Marrero playing 30 games at third base, or Holt playing 45 at second? Or both simultaneously? Probably not very comfortable, nor should you be because, while they’re probably super nice guys, neither is good enough to be starting.

What I’m saying is their depth is deep. While they don’t lack in quality starters however, and they have all the deepest depth, the quality of that depth is questionable.

The point is there are questions, perhaps too many questions to feel comfortable. Swihart is yet another question mark, but he’s a talented question mark, more talented than the rest of the group. Also, the Red Sox don’t have to hit on all their question marks. They only need one or two and they’ll have a very strong bench.

There’s two more reasons to hold on to Swihart, the most important of which is the utter lack of catching depth in the organization. The Sox don’t have a single catcher anywhere in their top 30 prospects and nothing playable in the upper minors. That means it’s Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon all the way, all year long. If one of those guys gets hurt, then the replacement is likely going to be someone who doesn’t have any business playing in the majors. Swihart offers something more than replacement level behind the plate.

That brings us to the last reason to hold on to Swihart: upside. This is the main argument often cited by Swihart fans. He was a top prospect as recently as April of 2015, when Sox Prospects had him ranked above Yoan Moncada, Manuel Margot, Rafael Devers, and Michael Kopech. He’s potentially an above average hitter, not just for a catcher but for the major leagues. He offers a bit of everything: power, speed, and average. It’s an enticing package.

He’s not 22 anymore though. He might yet attain what the prospect writers hoped for him, though his spring training heroics aren’t as much the biggest sign of that as the fact that his name can be penciled into the lineup for the first time in two seasons.

The great thing for the 2018 Red Sox is he doesn’t have to be better than Moncada and Kopech this season. If he can hit a bit while playing a bit, that’s enough. He’s likely a better hitter than Holt, and definitely a better hitter than Marrero, and certainly a better hitter than Leon. If he stays healthy, shows something at the plate, then he’s probably still an upgrade over Leon long term. That’s a valuable guy, and one the organization shouldn’t be rushing to get rid of, especially for a Triple-A reliever, a C+ prospect, or whatever small return they might receive.

If the Angels call about Mike Trout, though, they probably should do that one.

Photo by Kim Klement — USA TODAY Sports

Swihart had sky-high value at this time and was considered untouchable by many when it came to trade talks. Young catchers who could play the position defensively and could hit for average and pop were not a common commodity, and they still aren’t. At BP, we published three scouting reports on Swihart between August of 2013 and May of 2015. These reports were glowing. Scouts raved about his 60-grade FV glove and arm, as well as his 55-grade FV hit tool. Our own fantasy prospect guru Bret Sayre called him a “lock to stick at catcher long term and hit for a strong average” and ranked him the 31st-best fantasy prospect in baseball. He was Buster Posey-lite, with his potential impact being compared to good Jonathan Lucroy.

A lot can change in a little over 1000 days. For Swihart, his position has changed and then changed back again. His health has changed for the worse and is now close to his old form. His value has also changed. Swihart is no longer talked about as a sought after trade chip, but rather as a player fighting for his baseball life in Boston.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

If you haven’t seen the catastrophic video of Swihart’s ankle injury, consider yourself lucky and do not look it up. On June 4th, 2016 — while playing in left field of all places — Swihart severely sprained his ankle after running into the side wall at Fenway Park. The rest is history: he underwent surgery on August 15th and worked his way back to health by last spring. The positive news was evident, and Swihart was strong enough to battle for a spot on the team during spring training of this past year. Let’s agree not to rehash the poor decision to play him there in the first place.

WHAT WENT WRONG

It was probably a forgone conclusion that the just-recently-healthy catcher who had been moved around the diamond the year before would not be the favorite to make it out of camp as the backup catcher. So what though? He was healthy. That was what mattered. As the year wore on, he played at Triple-A, returning to catching part-time until it became evident that his ankle was still not right. He struggled at the plate and needed a DL stint to get his body right. It was in large part a lost year — the second such year in a row for the player. He was called up in September and played just 12 innings behind the dish. By this time many folks were doubting if he would ever be relevant again.

WHAT TO EXPECT

In many ways 2018 will be a make or break year for Swihart’s future as a member of the Red Sox. He is now as healthy as he has been since his injury initially occurred, which will be key as he battles to make the roster this spring. You see, Swihart is out of options. He either makes the team out of camp or he is on a different team. Luckily for Swihart and the Red Sox, things are finally starting to break right for the former prospect. This winter he was healthy enough to play in the Dominican Winter League, where he batted .407/.515/.481 over 33 PA while catching for the Leones del Escogido.

If I were Dave Dombrowski, I would take a long look at Swihart and try and find any reason at all to have him on the bench to start the year. Swihart has pedigree, he’s only 26 years old, and he’s actually healthy! He still has the most offensive upside out of all of the Red Sox catchers and he’s athletic enough to play other positions. The bat is what should be the selling point though. His offensive upside is far greater than that of Brock Holt, Devin Marrero, and Sandy Leon, who he is potentially competing against for a roster spot. I have long defended Swihart, and now see him as more underrated than ever. I don’t doubt that we haven’t seen his best yet as a player. If I were DD, I’d want to make sure that we do see his best in the future, and that it’s while he’s wearing a Red Sox uniform.

Photo by Kim Klement – USA TODAY Sports

Then everything changed. His approach and hitting profile improved dramatically, and thanks to a shortage of good third basemen, Lin soon found himself in the major leagues. For the few weeks he was on the team, he did fairly well. Wasn’t amazing, wasn’t terrible, but for a guy who had zero Triple-A plate appearances in his professional career by the time of his initial call-up, I’d say he did just fine. As a prospect, however, he blew past any and all expectations.

What Went Right

Jeff Paternostro saw something in him over a year ago on the Top 10 Prospects list($), and he noted his weakness for a good glove with a semblance of offensive tools, even if Lin continued to toil away at Double-A. Then he started making noise, and eventually got a spot on Carson Cistulli’s Fringe Five series in mid-May, after Lin had 1. reduced his groundball rate by over 20 percent, 2. had recorded an Isolated Power mark more than triple his career number, and 3. brought his strikeout rate down to 18.5 percent — below the Eastern League average. As another month went by, Lin got even more attention. He got another blurb on the Fringe Five, and a few days before his call-up, Erich Rothmann praised his growth over at the main site($).

So, yes, he got some attention. That is a good thing. But why? Well, Eric Longenhagen observed several improvements to his stance and swing. He started using his lower body more in his swing — better footwork helps a lot here — and thanks to his good hand-eye coordination and contact skills, he’s been able to quickly add more power to it. Is he going to hit a ton of homers? Probably not. But I’m a sucker for middle infielders who can make contact like he does, especially when he can turn those long singles into doubles with his plus speed. Lin finally found his stroke.

On June 24th, Lin was called up to the major leagues as the Red Sox struggled to get any production out of third base. A couple days later, he got his first base hit in the majors. Three days after that, he crushed a ball that would’ve been a homer in a vast majority of other ballparks:

That swing and hit is emblematic of everything he’s done this year. The leg kick gets down to lock in the power, he turns on a middle-in fastball, and gives it enough loft to send it nearly 380 feet to right. Lin’s tenure with the club was one of the high points of the season, and it was all because everything went right.

What Went Wrong

Lin was eventually sent down on July 16th, after the Red Sox deemed Brock Holt healthy enough to play. His offensive explosion was toned down a bit as he had more time to face more advanced pitching — the walk and strikeout rates regressed, the grounders came back, and there were a lot of pop-ups. I don’t think any of us were expecting his .385 BABIP in the majors to hold up, even with his encouraging batted ball profile, so this was just natural regression. He still made good contact and whiffed only five percent of the time in Pawtucket. Other than that, nothing was really all that terrible.

What To Expect

Despite being buried on the depth chart by Holt, Marco Hernandez, Deven Marrero, and possibly the addition of another utility infielder (Eduardo Nunez, anyone?), Lin is closer to the majors than people realize. That’s a strange statement to make about a guy who has already been there, but with Hernandez’s shoulder, Holt’s general ineffectiveness, and Marrero’s allergy to any kind of offense, Lin is only an injury and a bad slump away from a roster spot. He’s still on the fringes of the 25-man at best right now, but it shouldn’t surprise you if we see him get a handful of plate appearances come mid-season, especially if he lights it up at Pawtucket. The Red Sox just might have something here.

Photo by Kim Klement — USA TODAY Sports

This past season was certainly a difficult one for Holt on and off the field. The beloved bench bat, who has dealt with concussion issues over the years, missed time from late April until mid-July dealing with vertigo. There were times last year when I remember wondering if he would ever even play baseball again. As scary as that thought was for us fans, I imagine it was devastating for him. When Holt did return, he played his usual myriad of positions, but did so at the lowest level of his career. As we look to the 2018 season, there is a real argument to be made that the team would be better off without Holt.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

After getting back to the field on July 16th Holt didn’t miss any time for the remainder of the season. Just being able to stick with the team and not have to leave due to recurring vertigo was a victory for the player and the team. Oh, and the hair and smile were good all year.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Let’s begin with his batting line for the season. Over 64 games and 164 PA, Holt slashed .200/.305/.243 with zero home runs and just seven RBI. He was completely inept at the plate the entire season in a way that he had never shown us before. His .214 TAv was by far the lowest mark of his career, and overall, Holt was a detriment to the team offensively. Though he was once one of the strangest All-Stars in recent memory, Holt has never really created plus value with his bat. His offense has always been predicated on making contact.

The fact that John Farrell could trust Holt to play nearly every position on the field has always been his most valuable attribute. You knew you were going to get league average or worse offense, but there was little chance he would make a play that would kill you in the field. Holt wasn’t great, but simply solid all around the infield and in the corners of the outfield. After providing 6.7 FRAA in 2016 that number slipped to just 1.1 in 2017. The overall result was a player that was worth -0.2 WARP or -0.9 fWAR depending on which calculation you like best. Either way, negative WAR is not a good look.

WHAT TO EXPECT

I mentioned at the beginning how much his smile was worth and the Red Sox would be smart to move on from Brock Holt if they can find a trade partner. As the team looks at its potential bench for 2018, there are several more appealing options. Devin Marrero is a far superior defender in the infield and is out of options. Bryce Brentz, who was recently added to the 40-man roster, is a much better offensive player than Holt and is also out of options. Since the Red Sox have three guys who can play center field Brentz’s poor defense is no issue here. Sandy Leon, as long as he remains with the team, will take up a bench spot.

Perhaps the most interesting player who could replace Holt is Blake Swihart, who had .997 OPS in Dominican winter league ball. He is out of options and could surely be used all around the infield and in the outfield, although if I see him in the outfield again I might cry. The team could decide to try and shop one of the other players mentioned in order to get Sam Travis on the team. Travis, who mashes lefties, could make for an intriguing platoon partner for Mitch Moreland. All of this is to say that Holt might be too expensive and not good enough with either the glove or bat to warrant a spot on the team in 2018. It’s been a fun ride, but for the club and player, it’s probably time to get off.

Photo by Patrick McDermott — USA TODAY Sports

Back then, Pablo Sandoval was one of the premier signings of the offseason, having inked a five-year, $95 million contract. This was to lock him into playing the hot corner in Boston until 2019 and force open the next window of contention for the Red Sox. Optimism was guarded, but high. After a injury-plagued, loss-filled 2014 season, we all expected a rebound for the team in 2015, and Sandoval would be one of the reasons why.

2015 was a dumpster fire, mostly. 2016 happened with very little Panda involvement. 2017 didn’t even come with a dead cat bounce for the third baseman. Sandoval barely made it halfway through his contract before being released, and three years post-signing, that contract is regarded as one of the worst in recent memory, and definitely Ben Cherington’s worst signing, if not the worst transaction of his tenure as general manager of the Red Sox.

So, now that we’ve started this off on a good note, let’s take a look at what Sandoval did this season!

What Went Right

Back when we still had hope for him, Sandoval did a thing!

And after he went back to the San Francisco Giants and continued to flounder for a while, he did another thing!

He wasn’t all bad — just 95% or so.

What Went Wrong

Saying everything else feels like hyperbole, but it really was everything else. The comeback from shoulder surgery never materialized, as Sandoval posted a paltry .215 TAv in 108 plate appearances for the Red Sox in 2017, and saw dwindling time in the field in lieu of guys like Josh Rutledge. His glove was still missing in action, couldn’t get consistent starting time, and was the recipient of some bad luck, even if his overall offensive output was a detriment to the team.

Sandoval went on the disabled list with an ear infection on June 20th, and never wore a Red Sox uniform again. The Red Sox kept him rehabbing in the minors as long as they possibly could, designated him for assignment on July 14th, and finally released him five days later. The Giants signed him to a minor league contract on July 22nd, and you can find my analysis for that move over at BP.

It’s really hard to overstate just how bad he was in Boston. Overall, his tenure saw him churn out an accumulated -1.8 WARP over 620 PA. Nothing about him was consistently good, with any aspect of his game ranging from mediocre at best to disastrous at worst. When Deven Marrero — Deven Marrero! — is keeping even with you offensively, you know you’re pretty abysmal at the plate. The difference between Sandoval and Marrero, however, is that Marrero is a wizard with a glove, and Sandoval — well, let’s just say he wasn’t very magical out there. Thus he became a $40 million benchwarmer, and the Red Sox ate the money to rid themselves of him.

It wasn’t a good signing to begin with, and it turned out even worse than anyone could’ve imagined. There’s no sugarcoating something that was this bad.

What To Expect

Nothing for the Red Sox, not anymore. He’s still with the Giants, and they have very little to lose by keeping him on the roster for now. Would it be cool to see him succeed again? Sure would! Is it likely? Not really, no. Sandoval wasn’t the type of player that would age gracefully, and at 31 years old, that shortened aging curve is really taking him for a downhill ride. There’s probably some decent baseball left in him, but if the Giants release him sometime next year, that’s probably it for the Panda. There’s not much else to say that hasn’t already been said, but you can only wish things had gone better with him.

Photo by Patrick McDermott – USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox were forced to go through a lot of infielders in 2017, and Hernandez going down was one of the reasons why.

What Went Right

Not a lot, really. It’s hard to have good times when your season ended 60 plate appearances in, and you weren’t even on the Opening Day roster to begin with. But he did have one cool moment, way back at the tail-end of April, which started with Hernandez beating old friend Koji Uehara to first base to get himself an infield single:

And that culminated with Hernandez scoring the go-ahead run later that inning:

See, that’s pretty neat. Silver linings and all that.

What Went Wrong

Everything else.

He wasn’t on the 25-man roster for Opening Day because the Red Sox thought they needed Steve Selsky more than him, despite a good Grapefruit League showing by Hernandez. Then he was finally added to the roster when Xander Bogaerts went on the bereavement list.

A month later, Hernandez would have to be taken out of a game after hurting himself:

Seems innocuous, right? Just a little pinch in the shoulder? It wasn’t. He was put on the disabled list the next day with a left shoulder subluxation, and eight days after that, it was announced that he would need season-ending surgery on said shoulder. Poor Marco.

What To Expect

It’s hard to analyze Hernandez’s hitting in the majors with just 116 plate appearances total, but he can hit a bit with a little power mixed in there. His last stint in the minors came with a .309/.343/.444 slash line, so it’ll be a waste to have him stay there for much longer. He’ll probably pan out and be a solid major league contributor when all is said and done, provided he recovers well from surgery and he doesn’t get bounced off the roster for a worse player.

However, with Dustin Pedroia needing several months to recover from knee surgery, Hernandez is, as of today, the leading candidate to start in his place. The Red Sox have soured a little on Brock Holt, as they might’ve (finally!) realized that he can’t be a day-to-day starter. The other options at second base are Deven Marrero – a player who I’ve said the phrase “if he could only hit” about far too much – and Tzu-Wei Lin, who did well during his time in the majors in 2017, but will probably need more plate appearances in Pawtucket more than anything. With Eduardo Nunez coming back not a sure thing, Hernandez currently tops the depth chart at the keystone.

Had Pedroia been healthy, Hernandez might’ve faced the same outcome as he did in 2017: as the 26th man for a 25-man roster. With some playing time opening up, we’ll see more of him than we have in the past two seasons combined, and he’ll hopefully come out of it looking like a player with a little upside that won’t hurt you when he plays. He’s got the skills. Now he just needs the time to show them off.

Photo by Winslow Townson – USA TODAY Sports