2 players the Red Sox need to call up when the roster expands, and 2 they shouldn't
On September 1, when MLB rosters expand from 26 players to 28 players, the Boston Red Sox are going to have some difficult choices to make.
On Sept. 1, when MLB rosters expand from 26 players to 28 players, the Boston Red Sox are going to have some difficult choices to make.
Prior to 2020, when the expansion was from 25 to 40, it was easier to make some choices, as you had more to choose from, but now with just two players of breathing room, it causes many teams to make choices they either don't want to or to make multiple moves throughout the last month of the year as they push towards the postseason.
The Red Sox are at a bit of a crossroads right now, and they are bound to make some tough decisions about who to bring up to help the big club, and who not to bring up.
Surely, it will depend on where they're at in terms of pitching or offense who they bring up, but here are two players they should consider, and two players who should not be in the conversation.
Red Sox call-up candidate No. 1: Bobby Dalbec
To say Bobby Dalbec has had an excellent season down in Triple-A Worcester is putting it mildly. Dalbec has hit over .280, hit 30 home runs and has driven in 64 runs. He has also collected 197 total bases in that time which includes 11 doubles, and two triples.
Dalbec has a had a major-league call-up caliber season all year, but there just hasn't been the space up in Boston. Now that he has gained some versatility, and played just about everywhere in the field with a lot of his reps coming at right field, shortstop and designated hitter, as opposed to his natural positions of first base and third base, it might be time.
If Dalbec gets called up and continues to hit the way he does, however, that puts Boston in a position where they could trade him for a valuable pitcher (or other asset they deem necessary in the offseason) or they could keep him in the big leagues for the following year and feel more confident if Justin Turner were to not pick up his player option in 2024.
Red Sox call-up candidate No. 2: Christian Arroyo
Let's be real here folks, the pitching is probably the best you're going to get this year, and anyone who gets called up is either going to be making his first major league start or has struggled so far in his time in the major leagues, so the logical choice is to get some insurance for Trevor Story who is just returning from offseason surgery.
Story is bound to have some soreness in his elbow at some point, and need more substantial backup than Pablo Reyes and Luis Urias. So why not bring back the guy who was holding down the fort before he came back from rehab in the first place?
Before Story's return, Arroyo was hitting .241 with three home runs, and 24 RBI. Most importantly with Arroyo, though, was his defensive numbers. In 2023 alone, he has just two errors at second base, and has none at shortstop.
I know, I know, a lot of you are calling for Yu Chang to be called back up, but the thing about Chang is he has been hurt this year for a lot of the season. Arroyo has been hurt for a little bit, but has not been hurt as consistently as Chang.
Don't Call Up: Ceddane Rafaela
With this one, the Red Sox might be asking themselves why not call up the best player in your entire minor league system late in the season? I'll tell you why, and it's four words long: major league service time.
Chances are, if they call Rafaela up to the big leagues and you make the postseason, it will be after the roster expansion and he will not be eligible to play in the postseason. Therefore, Boston will have gotten Rafaela one month closer to being arbitration eligible, and that is the last thing you want when you could have him for a whole season next year, especially if Adam Duvall decides to walk in free agency.
Sure, Rafaela is havinig an excellent season down in Worcester, but another angle to look at it from is the angle of "what if you bring him up to the majors and he doesn't play the same?" That kind of a thing destroys a guy's confidence.
Chances are Rafaela breaks camp with the big club in 2024, but the last thing the Red Sox want before that happens is for him to lose his confidence.
Don't Call Up: Bradley Zimmer
Bradley Zimmer would definitely be a head turner if you were to bring him up from Triple-A towards the end of the year to push for the playoffs, but, at the end of the day, why waste a 40-man roster spot on an outfielder, and a left-handed hitting one at that (which you have plenty of already) when you could very well use it on a pitcher, if needed.
Instead of Zimmer, you could look at a pitcher like Nick Robertson who was acquired in the trade that sent Kike Hernandez to the Dodgers.
Maybe by that point Boston may need some help in the bullpen, or maybe even a short length starter because its bullpen is so solid, but either way Zimmer is not the way to go.
The right way to go for the Red Sox is to resign Zimmer after the offseason to a minor league deal and let him play his heart out in spring training and probably earn a spot on the roster that way as a back-up to Rafaela or maybe even Rob Refsnyder.
T-Minus 16 days until roster expansion, what Boston does, remains to be seen.
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