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

I’m writing about Noe Ramirez here, I promise. But first, some fun facts about the ragtag band of journeymen I’ve covered so far. In 2017, players that have been recapped by your’s truly…

• played in 23 total games
• pitched 13.1 innings
• surrendered 14 earned runs
• scored seven runs
• allowed three home runs
• hit zero home runs
• struck out eight batters
• were struck out 14 times
• allowed a batting average of .350
• batted .242
• posted a combined WAR of 0.1

I believe it is actually impossible to draw up a four-man group of players on this roster who had less of an overall impact on the franchise than these four. Three of the four are no longer with the organization, after all, and the only one that remains (Elias) is far from guaranteed to make the majors in 2018. The only other pitchers to pitch fewer innings than Kendrick — who paced this group with a whopping 8.2 innings pitched — were Carson Smith (who will contribute this year), Kyle Martin (who is still here, at least as minor league filler), and Mitch Moreland (the starting first baseman). Three hitters recorded fewer plate appearances than Davis: Steve Selsky (who was pretty bad but is still around), Blake Swihart (a post-hype sleeper), and Chase d’Arnaud (who needed one plate appearance to top Davis in fWAR). It’s the perfect storm of both barely playing and playing terribly.

How do you write 35 words for every plate appearance Rajai Davis made this season? How do you make an entire article out of Roenis Elias’ two batters faced? In some ways, these are the best Roster Recaps — it’s like writing with the difficulty set to Very Hard. I have a sense of investment in these guys now; it’s about finding value in the little things. They might be bad at baseball, but they’re great at being my baseball sons.

Or something. I don’t know, it’s 23 games, man!

Let’s talk about Noe Ramirez, or something.

What Went Right:

Not much. Ramirez’s best performance of the season came after being claimed by the Angels, where he posted a 2.16 ERA and struck out 32% of the batters he faced… in 8.1 innings pitched. As a minor leaguer, Ramirez was fine; a 3.51 ERA and 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings is pretty okay, but it’s nothing spectacular. I guess it sucks a little bit to lose a very cheap reliever with a good minor league track record under team control through 2023, but there was really nothing about Noe Ramirez’s 2017 that the Red Sox will miss.

What Went Wrong:

The great irony of me recapping Noe Ramirez is that Ramirez was waived in August to make room for one of my previous recaps: Roenis Elias. When you’re waived for the guy who faced two major league batters all season, you probably had a rough year.

Ramirez is basically just a Quad-A reliever, which is probably the least valuable kind of Quad-A player. He pitched hundreds of innings for Boston’s farm system and had a fairly strong track record, but any time he came up to the big show, he got shelled. Interestingly, each of his three major league stints (2015, 2016, and 2017) lasted exactly 13 innings. This was certainly the best one, but it still came with a FIP north of 4.00. It’s a shame that a long-time organizational guy like Ramirez didn’t stick with the major league squad, but considering he’s now 28 years old,  it’s not much of a loss.

What to Expect:

Well, Noe Ramirez is an Angel now, so for the Red Sox… nothing. Maybe he finally sticks around in Los Angeles and contributes in some kind of middle relief role, but more likely, I’d expect 60 innings in Triple-A with a respectable ERA and some strikeouts. Not great, not terrible, just fine. That should be the subtitle for all these recaps, honestly.

Photo by Kelley L Cox — USA TODAY Sports

We all know how this game turned out for the Indians. Two innings later, as Kris Bryant recorded the final out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Davis’ finest moment crumbled into cruel, false hope — a historical footnote, rather than postseason legend. It really was a ridiculous home run, though.

It was the most interesting thing that has happened in Rajai Davis’ MLB career, but the truth is that Rajai Davis just isn’t a very interesting baseball player. He’s made a career out of being not terrible, but also not great. Just useful. That season with the Indians wasn’t the best overall season of Davis’ career — his 3.4 fWAR campaign with Oakland in 2009 dramatically outstrips it — but he smacked a career-high 12 regular season homers across from 43 stolen bases and maintaining generally positive performance in the outfield. His .302 wOBA wasn’t anything to write home about, but his overall package made him a fine, if replaceable, starter.

Davis opened last season in an anonymous Athletics lineup that consisted of Jed Lowrie and some kids. He didn’t hit particularly well, but he made it up by being a negative in the outfield and falling off as a baserunner. After Jackie Bradley Jr. sprained his thumb, the Red Sox traded 18-year-old Rafael Rincones (who wasn’t a top-30 guy in the farm system) for him.  Now, I’m tasked with writing something interesting about the decisively uninteresting Rajai Davis and his decisively uninteresting Red Sox tenure.

With that in mind, here is every single game of Rajai Davis’ legendary Red Sox career. We have been blessed by his presence, and I shall never forget it.

Game 1: Red Sox 6, Indians 13

Rajai Davis: 0-1, K

Rajai Davis’ Red Sox debut came in a time of crisis, down seven runs as Mookie Betts exited the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a sore knee. His only opportunity to hit would come in the top of the 9th. He struck out looking. You’ll get ‘em next time, champ.

Game 2: Red Sox 3, Orioles 16

Rajai Davis: 1-4

The first start of Rajai Davis’ Red Sox career would come at home against the Orioles. Playing centerfield in relief of the injured Jackie Bradley Jr., Davis batted eighth in the order and was quite a bit more active. Davis singled in the bottom of the fifth off Jeremy Hellickson. The stress of Davis’ presence on first base must have been too much for Hellickson, as he would threw a wild pitch two batters later and allow Davis to take second. Unfortunately, that batter was the fan who pretended to be Brock Holt all of last season, and he would ground out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, Davis’ tremendous offensive pressure would allow him to take a base yet again — shortstop Tim Beckham, fearful of his raw speed, committed a throwing error to first, leaving Davis safe. Davis would claim second once again on a fielder’s indifference. It’s not like catcher Welington Castillo had a prayer of throwing out Rajai Davis anyways.

The Red Sox would lose by 13.

Game 3: Red Sox 1, Orioles 2

Rajai Davis: 1-4, K, CS

After a well-earned night off for his tremendous exertion in the first Baltimore game, Rajai Davis – Mr. Consistency, you could call him – went 1-of-4 against the Orioles once again. He reached on an infield single in the bottom of the fourth inning, but was caught stealing. Hubris defeats even the greatest of us.

Game 4: Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 0

Rajai Davis: 2-4, 2 R, 2 SB

Spoiler-alert: this is Rajai Davis’ greatest game in a Boston uniform — he picked up 22 percent of his total hits with the Red Sox in this game, as well as 66 percent of his stolen bases. Davis singled in the top of the sixth and eighth innings, and each time stole second before coming around to score. He also hit leadoff, because 2017 John Farrell deployed lineups as his own form of abstract art.

Game 5: Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 1

Rajai Davis: 0-4, BB, 3 K

For the sake of Rajai Davis, we won’t discuss this game. We have to respect our living legends.

Game 6: Red Sox 2, Yankees 6

Rajai Davis: 0-3, 2 K

Another bump in the road to baseball immortality for Rajai Davis, who suffered the ignominy of being subbed out for the impostor wearing Brock Holt’s skin after two strikeouts. This was also the game where C.C. Sabathia got mad at the Red Sox for bunting once. Fun times.

Games 7-13:

Rajai Davis: 0-5, 2 K, R

With Jackie Bradley returned from the disabled list, Rajai Davis was relegated to the bench. Over this stretch of time — roughly half of September — Davis primarily appeared as a pinch runner and defensive replacement. He did not record a hit or a stolen base. Scored a run, though!

Game 14: Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 9

Rajai Davis: 1-1, 2B, RBI, R

Woah! Rajai Davis extra base hit! Davis showcased his clutch gene in this game, pinch-hitting in the bottom of the eighth inning down seven runs and helping spark a Sox rally. Davis doubled home Chris Young and blazed in a run of his own off a single from Hanley Ramirez. Those would be the last Red Sox runs of the game, however.

Fun fact: Rajai Davis’ wRC+ for this game was 718. Mike Trout’s career wRC+ is 169. Get bent, Mike.

Game 15: Red Sox 10, Blue Jays 7

Rajai Davis: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI, SB

Rajai Davis’ Power Explosion continued into the following day, as Davis would blast another double against Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada and his formidable 4.98 ERA. This was a showcase of the all-around package we’ve come to expect from Rajai Davis year-in and year-out: two runs, an RBI, a stolen base, and an extra base hit.

Game 16: Red Sox 2, Astros 3

Rajai Davis: 1-3, K, R

Game 17: Red Sox 3, Astros 4

Rajai Davis: 1-4, K

The final three games of Rajai Davis’ storied Red Sox career would happen to come against the Houston Astros. The first two came in the final series of the regular season, and saw Davis pick up a base hit in each. You could say this made him something of an Astro-killer. It might not be true, but you could say it.

Game 18: Red Sox 2, Astros 8

Rajai Davis: 0-0

Shockingly, the Red Sox did not give Davis or his career playoff line of .175/.209/.275 much of an opportunity in October. Davis made his only appearance of the series in the second game in relief of Mookie Betts in right field, when Betts tweaked his wrist in the eighth inning. Davis did not hit a dramatic home run, and in fact, did not even record a plate appearance. Thus ended his Red Sox career. We shall never see his like again.

What Went Right:

The Red Sox brought Rajai Davis in to fill an outfield spot while Jackie Bradley Jr. recovered from a sprained thumb. He may have hit terribly, graded negatively in the field, and only swiped three bases, but he was undeniably very good at existing. So, there’s that.

What Went Wrong:

Rajai Davis did not hit for the cycle even a single time.

What to Expect:

At some point, a team will decide they need somebody to run a whole bunch. Rajai Davis will heroically answer the call.

Photo by Kevin Sousa — USA TODAY Sports

Sort of.

Yesterday’s contest was a make-up game left all the way over from early April — back when Drew Pomeranz was a still a Padres reclamation project, Blake Swihart was in one piece and David Price wasn’t utterly depressing. One day after being called “frontrunners” by the Boston Globe’s Ronald McDonald, the Red Sox pulled out a gritty one-run victory sure to send the clown into a grimace.

Top Play (WPA): Barring a postseason matchup — a distinct possibility — this was David Ortiz’s last game in Cleveland, and he went out with a bang. His two-run donger in the sixth inning gave the Red Sox a lead they would never relinquish, despite the best efforts of Craig Kimbrel later in the game. Fun fact: I like David Ortiz!

Bottom Play (WPA): With the Sox up one in the ninth inning, Kimbrel gave up a leadoff double to Francisco Lindor. More than Rajai Davis’s eighth-inning RBI double or fourth-inning solo home run, this boded well for the Tribe, and things looked especially juicy for the hometown crowd when Mike Napoli walked in the following at-bat. Then Kimbrel struck out some guys and got a popout and we won, but jeepers, man. This heart really can’t take it any more. Celine Dion I’m not.

Key Moment: In retrospect, I’d say Jackie Bradley Jr.’s sixth inning ding-a-ling is worth mentioning, but just to be a contrarian, I’ll go with Carlos Santana’s seventh inning double play ball with Mike Napoli on third and no outs; the WPA gods say they’re .005 points apart, and they drink a lot.

Trend to Watch: Pomeranz was exquisite. If he pitches for the rest of the year like he pitched yesterday, the Sox have a good chance at making some real noise in the playoffs. This may not yet actually be a trend, but let’s hope it is.

Coming Next: The last of three opponents in three days: it was the Diamondbacks in Boston on Sunday, the Indians in Cleveland on Monday, and it’ll be the Orioles in Baltimore tonight. The matchup is Eduardo Rodriguez versus Yovani Gallardo, so if you play daily fantasy, you might want to jam your lineup full of Boston and Baltimore’s hitters. Just a hunch. Because the pitchers are bad, see.

Photo by David Richard/USA Today Sports Images