Red Sox position players on the fringe of making 2018 Opening Day roster

With Hot Stove in session, it’s easy to forget about players the Red Sox already have. I’ll remind you they exist and speculate their 2018 impact.

It’s November, so any conversation surrounding the Boston Red Sox is based on the principle of “sign this guy,” or “trade for that guy.”

And that makes sense. It’s the offseason, the part of the calendar with the highest volume of player movement until July 31. The only time of year where Free Agent signing is available to teams en masse. I do not blame anybody for speculating about players the Sox could bring in that already have made an impact in the bigs.

It is, however, easy to forget that the Red Sox could already have players that fill some of their needs signed to contracts. Some of these players have been toiling around in Minor League Baseball for the last few seasons. Some have made their Major League debuts and had extended stays in Boston. The only thing these players have in common that keep them forgotten is the fact that they’re not Giancarlo Stanton.

So, I’ve compiled a list of the “fringe” players that I believe are either the closest to making a real impact on the 25-man roster, or still have questions floating around them. Fringe player implies that the player is either on the 40-man roster already, or in Pawtucket showing signs they’re ready to come up.

And no, for this exercise, Rusney Castillo doesn’t count.

Sources: MLB.com, Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference