The Red Sox made the penultimate changes to their Opening Day roster today and thus have finalized their 25-man roster for the start of the 2015 season.
With a handful of injuries this spring, the big one obviously being Christian Vazquez‘s Tommy John Surgery, the Red Sox have had to undergo some roster shuffling. However, it’s hard to deny that, even after injuries to some important players, the team is well-positioned to start the season.
Here’s the roster breakdown:
Catchers: Ryan Hanigan (starter), Sandy Leon (backup)
Infielders: Mike Napoli (first base), Dustin Pedroia (second base), Xander Bogaerts (shortstop), Pablo Sandoval (third base), Brock Holt (utility man)
Outfielders: Hanley Ramirez (left field), Mookie Betts (center field), Shane Victorino (right field), Allen Craig (corner outfield, first base), Daniel Nava (corner outfield, first base)
Designated Hitters: David Ortiz
Starting Pitchers: Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson, Wade Miley
Bullpen: Edward Mujica, Junichi Tazawa, Anthony Varvaro, Alexi Ogando, Robbie Ross, Craig Breslow, Tommy Layne, Steven Wright
The final changes to the roster have occurred in the pitching staff, with the Red Sox announcing that both Koji Uehara and Joe Kelly will begin the season on the disabled list. Today, the Red Sox announced that the knuckleballer Wright and southpaw Layne will begin the season in the bullpen, while going with a four-man rotation and an eight-man ‘pen for the start of the year. That’s an acceptable strategy, though, as the Red Sox have a day off immediately after Opening Day, which will allow Buchholz to rest for the requisite four days and negate the need for a fifth starter.
Aside from those minor changes, Boston’s roster will look pretty much as expected, with Leon serving as the backup catcher and Rusney Castillo headed to Triple-A to start the year despite a hot spring.
It’s tough to believe that we’re just three days away from the start of the season and the finalization of the 25-man roster is just one step closer to real baseball!