5 questions that could be answered in Red Sox spring training

What are the roles of two young Red Sox pitchers?

With closer Matt Barnes falling apart in August and set-up man Adam Ottavino struggling with control, the Red Sox were forced to rely on a pair of rookies down the stretch last season. Tanner Houck helped push the Red Sox into the postseason with five no-hit innings in Game 161, and then threw some critical relief innings during the team’s playoff run. Garrett Whitlock, meanwhile, was a key piece of the team’s success all season long and upped his game to a new level in October.

Despite their dominance in the postseason, their roles moving forward are uncertain. Both Houck and Whitlock have a background in the starting rotation, with Houck making the plurality of his appearances as a starter in 2021 and Whitlock starting 38 games in the Yankees minor league system before coming to Boston in the Rule 5 draft. Despite their successes in late inning relief, both pitchers have the pitch mix and control to think their future may be in the rotation.

This spring will provide clues over what their roles will be this season and beyond. Manager Alex Cora hinted on Sunday that the Red Sox could decide appearances based on matchups rather than assigned role, and with Houck’s and Whitlock’s ability to get both lefties and righties out, they can be two key pieces of that strategy. This spring should provide some clues over what lies ahead in the immediate future for these talented youngsters.

How ready is Red Sox prospect Triston Casas?

It’s been a long time since the Red Sox have had a prospect like Tristan Casas. The Red Sox first-round pick out of high school in 2018, Casas entered the system as one of the hitters in the entire draft. MLB.com described his raw power as “up there with just anyone in the class” and that he had a “solid approach at the plate.” He also had a reputation as an above-average first baseman, reportedly hitting 92 off the mound in high school.

Casas has more than lived up to the hype in his three years in the Red Sox system. He kicked off his professional career with a solid season in Single-A Salem, smacking 46 extra-base hits and earning the 2019 Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year award in the process. After the canceled 2020 minor league season in which he impressed at the Red Sox alternate site, Casas excelled in 2021 at both Double-A Portland and the U.S Olympic team and earned and finished the season at Triple-A Worcester.

The question now with Casas is not if he will be a major-league contributor, but when. The one knock on the big lefty entering 2021 was his mediocre plate discipline, but he responded by significantly cutting his strikeout rate and substantially increasing his walk rate.

The Red Sox seem set with Bobby Dalbec as the starting first baseman entering this season, but Casas will have ample opportunity to take over the spot sometime this summer. A strong spring would go a long way to showing that he is ready for the bright lights of Boston.

Are Red Sox pitcher Michael Wacha’s improvements for real?

The many skeptics in Red Sox Nation were quick to criticize the Michael Wacha signing. After all, here was a journeyman 30-year-old who has a 4.62 ERA over the last six years and has topped 25 starts just once over that span. His dominant 2013 postseason run in which he looked like a future star seemed like a lifetime ago.

On the surface, his 2021 season looked like more of the same. After bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen over the first two months, Wacha was moved to the rotation in June and was terrible, allowing a 6.67 ERA over his next twelve starts. To adjust, Wacha began throwing his cutter more and saw markedly better results, posting a 2.88 ERA and striking out more than a batter an inning over his final seven appearances.

There’s a lot to like about Wacha’s profile. He features a mid-90s fastball that has ticked up in recent years, an improving cutter, and one of the best changeups in the game. As he enters his age 30 season, he’s still young enough where there is hope he can stay healthy enough to put it all together.

With many questions surrounding him in the rotation, a lot is riding on Wacha’s injury-prone right arm this season, and he can begin to inspire hope this spring by showing that last September’s improvements were for real.

Can Red Sox prospect Jarren Duran make the necessary adjustments?

When Jarren Duran was called up to the major leagues on July 16, he was expected to provide speed and defense to a team that severely lacked both. While it would be nice if his bat could provide even a semblance of the production he had at Triple-A, there was not a lot of pressure on Duran to be an offensive threat with so many other talented hitters in the lineup. In other words, it would take quite the anemic offensive performance for Duran to find himself back in Triple-A.

By the end of August, Duran was jettisoned off the Red Sox roster. Over his first 27 games, he slashed just .221/.236/.372, a stark drop-off from his .258/.357/.516 line at Triple-A. Duran’s plate discipline was particularly atrocious, as he walked just two times against 33 strikeouts. Duran was recalled during the Red Sox Covid outbreak, but the results were even worse (.191/.261/.191).

With Duran’s speed and defense combination, he has a major league floor of at least a fourth outfielder. Yet anybody who saw Duran at Worcester knows there is so much more in the tank. The first step to proving he is not the player he showed in his cup of coffee last year would be an improved approach in spring training.

Is Red Sox lefty Chris Sale still THE Chris Sale?

No Red Sox player has more to prove than Chris Sale. After missing over two years with various neck and arm injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, Sale returned in August of last season, but he was a fraction of his former self. That was particularly true down the stretch, as he had a 7.22 ERA over his last five games, averaging less than three innings per appearance.

Besides the lackluster stats and inability to work deep into games, what’s worrisome about Sale was the drop-off in stuff. His fastball was a tick below his prime with much less command, while his slider lacked its usual depth. His changeup, meanwhile, was so inconsistent that Sale essentially dropped it from his arsenal. A mechanical adjustment in the ALCS upped his velocity and the sharpness of his slider, but still not to pre-2019 levels.

What will be important for Sale this spring is not so much the actual results but rather the quality of his pitches and the confidence he pitches with. The difference between when Sale is pitching with conviction and when he is passive is monumental, and there was far too much of the latter last year. While it’s unlikely Sale will ever fully recapture the triple-digit velocity of his prime, he’s still young enough that there is hope he can still somewhat resemble that guy. If he can start showing that this spring, the rest of the American League better watch out.