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Race to 25: Update on the Red Sox Roster Battles

By Max Sandgrund

Sep 28, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (52) delivers a pitch during the second inning of the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (52) delivers a pitch during the second inning of the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 18, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara (19) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Turner Field. The Red Sox defeated the Braves 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 18, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Koji Uehara (19) throws a pitch against the Atlanta Braves in the ninth inning at Turner Field. The Red Sox defeated the Braves 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /

THE BULLPEN

LHP Specialist

The Red Sox have two spots in their bullpen for left-handed pitchers.  The first spot will be filled by Robbie Ross, who is capable of getting batters out on both sides of the plate and can be relied on for three outs regardless of who is due up for the opposing team.  The second spot tends to be filled by a specialist; someone you can rely on in a high-leverage situation to get a left-handed batter out.

Entering Spring Training, the favorite for the second spot was Tommy Layne.  As stated last week, the surprise of the spring has been the lack of competition on the left side of the bullpen, but the Red Sox are clearly extremely confident in the Ross-Layne combination.

If anyone was going to compete for the specialist spot, it was Roenis Elias, but given the struggles and injuries of many thought to compile the Red Sox rotation depth, it is likely the team is going to want Elias to enter the season as a starter, whether that be in Boston or Pawtucket.  Therefore, we can consider this competition closed, with Layne the declared winner.

The Candidates

  1. Tommy Layne
  2. Roenis Elias

The State of the Competition

Layne has won the spot and deservedly so.  He has pitched six innings this spring and only given up four hits and one run.  He has a 1.50 ERA and opposing hitters are batting only .190 against him.

The fifth and final RHP slot

There are five spots available for right-handed relievers in the Red Sox bullpen.  Assuming health, the first four are going to Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, Carson Smith and Junichi Tazawa, leaving one spot available.  John Farrell has gone on record indicating he would like the fifth spot to be filled by someone who can pitch multiple innings.

The Candidates

  1. Steven Wright
  2. Matt Barnes

The State of the Competition

As discussed earlier, Wright has pitched 9.2 innings this spring and given up 13 hits and four walks.  He has also struck out four batters.  His spring ERA is 2.79, but opponents are hitting .317 against him.

As for Barnes, he continued his impressive spring during the third week of action.  Over seven innings of work, Barnes has yet to give up a run and has only allowed five men to reach base (four hits, one walk).  He has also struck out eight batters and opponents are only hitting .174 against him.  Barnes has also demonstrated his dominance over multiple innings, which would address Farrell’s concern about having someone who can get more than three outs in one outing.

The Leaderboard

  1. Matt Barnes
  2. Steven Wright

Next: The Starting Lineup

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