Red Sox: Who can we expect to see called up in September?

As the calendar gets ready to turn over to September, let’s take a look at the players who might be joining the Boston Red Sox at the end of the month.

September 1st is a big day for the Red Sox and for all teams around the MLB.  September 1st is the day that the MLB rosters expand from 25 to 40 men. That means that the team can call up anyone on their secondary (40 man) roster to their big league ball club.

Now almost no team is going to use all 40 spots but this is a good opportunity to bring up some guys to fill out your roster. Teams can bring up young players and see how they handle playing in the show. The Red Sox did this in 2016 when they added (then) top prospect Yoan Moncada last season.

Moncada, who had started the 2016 season in A ball, struggled over the last month of the season. He slashed .211/.250/.263 in 8 games, and showed that he could not hit big-league breaking balls.

He was basically Pedro Cerrano in Major League, but probably with less voodoo.

Seeing Moncada struggle in September most likely made it easier for the Red Sox brass to make him the corner piece in the Chris Sale trade; one of the many benefits of these roster expansions.

It’s also a team’s last shot to add players to their team in order for them to be eligible for their post-season roster. The Red Sox did this last season with pitcher Joe Kelly, who spent the majority of the summer in Pawtucket.  After a strong September (0.64 ERA in 14 IP) Kelly was added to the post season roster, and was arguably the Red Sox best pitcher in October (0.0 ERA in 3.2 IP)

With roster expansions just over a week away, here’s a look at who might be coming up to Fenway and what you can expect.

Sam Travis: First Baseman

Just like Kelly last season, we should be seeing a few familiar faces come back to Boston this season. The first of which should be my current favorite prospect, Sam Travis.

Travis is already on the 40 man roster and has been called up to Boston twice this season. The heir apparent to first base posted a .279/.380/.395 line in 18 games this season. Travis is a solid hitter with limited power potential, but at just 24, he still has time to change that.

The timing couldn’t be better for Travis, who is struggling since his last time in the majors. Since being sent down on July 18th, he’s batted just .273/.365/.291. Not bad numbers, but you certainly would hope he would be hitting better than that in the minors.

Is he one of those guys that just plays better in the bigs? Will he benefit from a change of scenery? It’ll be interesting to watch this fall.  Hopefully he comes up and can get some more consistent playing time then his last go around.

There’s also a good chance we see mid-season phenom Tzu-Wei Lin called up along side Travis. He only appeared in 19 games, but “Tzunami Lin” showed that he belonged. He slashed .280/.379/.360 while playing above average defense all over the infield, and captured the hearts of a nation.

Like Travis, Lin is already on the 40-man, and the team has nothing to lose by adding him to the active roster. Actually, I’m adding him on at the end of Travis’ page because I think he might be on the team before September. If Brock Holt continues to struggle, look for Lin to be the next man up.

Blake Swihart: Catcher/Outfielder

If you had asked me at the end of last season would be catching for the Red Sox in 2017 I would have told you Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not that big of a Sandy Leon fan, and I honestly thought that he was going to be DFA’d at least by July.

Thrust into a starting role in 2015, the then 23-year-old put up a serviceable .274/.319/.392 line with 5 HRs in 84 games. Going into that season, the switch hitting catcher was ranked the #17 overall prospect in all of baseball.

Fast forward to 2017 and he’s spent the entire season in the minors and has a batting average of .183. Some of that can be linked to the various injuries he’s been dealing with, but something is not right with him this season. Ever since he injured his ankle playing out of position in left field last year, the young player hasn’t been the same. However, Blake is showing us that he can still swing it, and I think everyone in the organization wants him to succeed.

https://twitter.com/PawSox/status/898924644589334528

He hasn’t faced major league pitching in over a year, and this is his chance to remind everyone of the player he can be when he’s healthy. Fortunately for him, there aren’t really any other options for the organization, so look for Blake to be in Boston to take on a role as the third catcher.

At the very worst, this is a chance to show him off as potential trade bait for next season. But at its best, maybe we see a return to form for the young catcher. I still think he can overtake Leon next year and has too much value to be moved from the backstop.

Carson Smith: Relief Pitcher

The minor league season ends in early September, as to coincide with roster expansions, and once the AAA season is finished, it’s time to make a decision about players on rehab assignments.

Is there a chance that we’ll finally see Carson Smith pitch for the Red Sox? The pitcher has been on a rehab assignment since August 6th, and after struggling in his first start has been looking more and more like his old self lately.

His velocity is a few ticks lower than it was before his Tommy John surgery, but that’s to be expected. It’s said that it really takes a full two years after TJ surgery before a player is back to their pre-injury form, but Smith’s recent outings should inspire confidence.

Don’t count on Smith to slot in as a primary bullpen piece, or even to be pitching in the post season. Even if he comes back and pitches anything like he did in 2015 (2.31 ERA in 70IP) he will be a great option when the primary guys need a day off.

Blaine Boyer, Ben Taylor, and Brian Johnson are also either in the minor on rehab or currently on the minor league DL. Depending on their health, don’t be surprised to see one or all of these guys back in Boston this year.