Red Sox position players on the fringe of making 2018 Opening Day roster
By Paul Doran
UTL TZU-WEI LIN
2017 with Boston: 25 G 0 HR, 2 RBI .268 BA/.369 OBP/.339 SLG (.709 OPS)
2017 in MiLB: 83 G, 7 HR, 28 RBI, .276 BA/.335 OBP/.410 SLG (.745 OPS)
I’d be hard-pressed to find a player that made me happier than Tzu-Wei Lin did over the summer.
Outside of Marrero, Lin was the best defensive infield prospect in the organization. So, when the Red Sox called Lin up in June, the media wrote the move off as one with infield defense in mind. And that made sense at the time, considering they battled so many injuries at those positions all season long.
Lin came to the majors with extremely low expectations. And then, all of the sudden, his bat happened.
Well, to be fair, outside of his two triples, he did not do much. But c’mon. Did you expect Tzu-Wei Lin to hit two triples? Did you even know who Tzu-Wei Lin was before he was called up?
In his time in the minors, split Portland and Pawtucket, he managed to hit 14 doubles, four triples, and swipe 10 bags, outperforming the ceiling everybody thought he had.
Pedroia missing time, unsurprisingly, is going to have a massive impact on the Red Sox in 2018. I’ve spoken ad nauseam. The obvious choices for this platoon are Marrero and one of either Lin or Hernandez. My head and the previous slide says Hernandez will be the second member of that second base timeshare. His time in the bigs shows he is the more polished player compared to Lin. But my heart says, Tzu-Wei Lin.
Next: Free agency could provide solution to bullpen problems
In a way, I think it always has. Give them what they want. Give them Tzu-Wei Lin.
VERDICT: Starts 2018 in AAA Pawtucket.