5 Biggest surprises on and off the Red Sox ALDS roster

The Red Sox ALDS roster has some notable names missing

The Boston Red Sox released their ALDS roster ahead of the first game on Thursday, and there were a few surprises on and left off the list.

Thankfully, the Red Sox have a break from do-or-die games, but that doesn’t make the postseason any less stressful. They’ve already seriously outperformed expectations and projections for this year and shown everyone what they can do. Can they keep it going?

Here are five surprises from the ALDS roster…

Matt Barnes is not on the Red Sox ALDS roster

This one is somehow shocking, not at all shocking, and extremely troubling all at the same time.

Barnes was Boston’s ace closer for a significant portion of the season, even taking home AL Reliever of the Month honors early in the season. In the first half of the season, he held opposing lineups to a .174/.238/.280 line and .518 OPS in 38 games. By midseason, the Sox announced that they had signed the first-time All-Star to a lucrative extension.

However, Barnes struggled to a 13.50 ERA over 11 August appearances and only made six appearances in September, due in part to a stint on the COVID IL during the team outbreak. Over those six appearances, he threw a total of five innings, struck out six, and allowed two earned runs. The Red Sox still won the games in which Barnes allowed runs, but it certainly didn’t help his case.

By season’s end, Barnes’ numbers were nearly identical to the three full seasons before the pandemic. Between 2017-2019, he had an ERA between 3.65-3.88, pitching between 62-70 appearances in each of those seasons. This year, he had a 3.79 ERA over 60 appearances, though he finished a career-high 44 games and earned an impressive 24 saves.

What’s notable about Barnes’ absence from the postseason roster is his numbers against the Rays batters this year and his playoff experience. Over four appearances, he allowed four earned runs on three hits, but Tampa Bay bats only managed to hit .188/.350/.250 with a .600 OPS against him.

Barnes has made 11 career postseason appearances between 2017-2018. All but one of said appearances were shutout. In 2018, he only allowed three total hits in ten games, and never more than one hit in an appearance.

With these numbers, it feels like there’s more to Barnes being left off the roster than just a slump.

Jarren Duran is not on the ALDS Roster, but Danny Santana is

Jarren Duran is one of, if not the fastest guys on the Red Sox. However, his transition from the minors to the majors has been a struggle, offensively. He’s hitting .215/.241/.336 with a .578 OPS over 33 big-league games, with only seven extra-base hits over 112 plate appearances. His plate discipline leaves a lot to be desired; 44 strikeouts and only four walks.

In eight games against the Rays, Duran couldn’t make heads or tails of their pitching. He slashed .185/.185/.185 with a .370 OPS against them with no extra-base hits. His speed doesn’t compensate enough for those numbers to make him worthy of a high-stakes postseason roster spot.

Santana, meanwhile, made his big-league debut in 2014, and the Red Sox gave him a shot on a minor-league deal this season. The upside of Santana is that he can play the infield and outfield, but his bat isn’t what it used to be, like when he hit 28 home runs and stole 21 bases for the Rangers in 2019.

Over 38 big-league games his season, Santana is hitting .181/.252/.345 with a .597 OPS, five home runs, and two doubles. He’s had multiple stints on both the IL and COVID-related IL, making it hard to assess his actual ability to contribute to this team. He does have a home run off the Rays this season, which is something.

If the Red Sox can only have room for one, Santana over Duran makes sense for his defensive versatility, but that’s about it.

JD Martinez is on the Red Sox ALDS roster

Martinez was forced to miss the Red Sox’ first-ever Wild Card game after he sprained his ankle in Game 162, tripping over a base on his way to play the outfield at an NL ballpark. Universal DH doesn’t sound so bad when you put it in that context.

When he missed the Wild Card game, Alex Cora said the injury had to be “very serious for him not to post.” If that’s the case, it’s unlikely that he’ll be fit as a fiddle already, just two days later.

Martinez worked out with the team on Wednesday, but his appearance on the roster doesn’t guarantee him in the lineup for the series opener; he just has to be on the roster for the series in order to appear in any of the games.

At the end of the regular season, Martinez was tied for the MLB lead in doubles (a career-high 42), and finished the year with 28 home runs, which is actually considered a down year for him, the fewest he’s hit in a full season since 2016.

Regardless, the Sox could really use a healthy Martinez in the lineup against the Rays; he started all 19 games of the regular-season series, and had 21 hits against them, including seven doubles and a home run. He scored 10 runs and drove in 16.