Many baseball fans will wait until Memorial Day to start having an opinion about their teams. Boston Red Sox fans know the first checkpoint is on Patriot’s Day.
The Red Sox have been about where many would expect. Some players are meeting expectations. Others are, unfortunately, coming up well short of what is needed from them.
One of the best parts of being a sports fan is sitting in the stands or at home playing general manager. We all have our thoughts as to what changes the Red Sox need to make. These three are becoming fairly obvious.
1) Red Sox roster change: Call up Jorge Alfaro, demote Connor Wong
Connor Wong continues to fail in his half of the Red Sox catcher platoon. The left-handed hitting Reese McGuire has been the complete opposite, excelling at the plate for them early on. The contrast between the two has been massive. To ensure they aren’t putting an automatic out in the lineup whenever this team faces a lefty, it’s better to send Wong back to Triple-A.
Jorge Alfaro has been hitting well down on the farm and while his track record as a major leaguer isn’t fantastic, April isn’t the time to let players go through growing pains. Getting Alfaro’s hot bat into the lineup two or three times a week on average may help spark this sputtering offense.
This is definitely a potentially temporary move for the Red Sox to make. It would require a separate roster change with Alfaro not currently on the 40-man roster. Wong has been frustratingly bad during his time with the Red Sox. Frankly, it’s time to move on completely. He just doesn’t look like a major league starter.
Several players on the Red Sox roster are struggling to get to the Mendoza Line early on in 2023. Wong is one of those guys. Until the Red Sox have fallen out of the playoff race, having the best 26 players on the roster is a must.