Who stays, goes, and is fighting for a spot on the Red Sox roster when Adam Duvall returns
During the 2023 offseason, the Boston Red Sox took a different approach than most teams to free agency, and went looking for players that wouldn't run them into the ground financially: one of those players was outfielder Adam Duvall -- who they signed to a one-year, $7 million contract.
Early on, however, Boston lost Duvall to a distal fracture on his left wrist - yes the same one he had season-ending surgery on in 2022. At the time, he was hitting .455 with four home runs, and 14 RBI -- easily one of the hottest hitters on the team, if not the league.
Luckily, this time he didn't need surgery, and on Wednesday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald announced that, Duvall is out of his cast. So, now that he's close to returning, what happens to the guys who have picked up the slack in the meantime?
Here's who should stay, who should get sent down, and who is fighting for their spot.
Who should stay on the Red Sox roster: OF Jarren Duran
Since being called up from Triple-A Worcester, Jarren Duran has made the case to stay in the big leagues, or at the very least to make Boston to think twice before sending him back down to Worcester.
In his first 16 games since being called up, Duran has hit .400 along with two home runs. He has also driven in 12 runs all while hitting 10 doubles to lead the MLB. He has also collected 38 total bases - giving him an average of nearly 2.5 bases per game (2.4 to be exact).
Why He Should Stay (Outside The Numbers)
One thing that Duran also represents for Boston is speed. He may have only stolen two bases, but his ability to run down balls in the gap is nearly irreplaceable. This speed, also brings the possibility of a Duvall-Duran platoon.
When Duvall returns to action, he's sure to feel a bit rusty, especially coming back a wrist injury on his bottom arm. He's bound to be extra delicate with his swings, and with that, there is always the possibility of some more strikeouts than usual when he first comes back.
It will be good to have someone there who has already been swinging a hot bat to be there as a back-up to Duvall. Duvall represents the power in center field, but Duran will represent the speed and quickness this team has already established.
Who the Red Sox should send down: RHP Ryan Brasier
I know what you're thinking: "What? An outfielder should replace a pitchers' spot on the roster?"
The truth of the matter is, Boston has too many pitchers at this given time. In fact 13 members of their 26-man roster are pitchers, and, while reinforcements for the bullpen and starting rotation are never a bad thing, a good thing is to balance out them with your position players.
When you have nine spots to fill in the lineup, and have only four back-ups for any of those positions, you are left with limited options on the bench. With the limited options off the bench, you are left with pitchers like Kutter Crawford pinch-running for you, and the last thing you want is for your pitchers to get hurt running the bases when it's no longer necessary for them to be there in the first place.
Why Brasier?
In his limited time in with the Red Sox since being claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners, Brennan Bernadino has been solid. He has collected a record of 1-0 in five games, with a 0.00 ERA in 5-2/3 innings pitched. He has also struck out five, and walked none, but we're not here to talk about him, at least not directly.
Bernadino's emergence as a lockdown threat out of the bullpen is what has caused this reporter's determination that Brasier should be Designated for Assignment, or at the very least sent down to the minor leagues to work out his mechanics.
In 15 games, Brasier is 1-0 with a 7.98 ERA in 14-2/3 innings pitched. He has also struck out 12, and walked eight with one save. Not exactly impressive numbers, especially when compared to Bernadino who fares well against both lefties and righties.
Who's fighting for their spot in the Red Sox outfield: Raimel Tapia
One player who has quietly been making some noise, and pushing for a roster spot since spring training, is Raimel Tapia. He hasn't been perfect at the plate this season -- hitting .233 with one home run and four RBI. It sounds like some pretty down numbers for a guy who was starting in center field just a year ago, but he has also scored five runs this season.
Most of those runs, however, have come from pinch-running opportunities that he has been relegated to, and it's because of this that he retains much of his value to the team. If there were a role for someone solely to come off the bench, and pinch-run, he'd be perfect.
Why He Should Stay
One reason that Tapia should stay up with Boston, as opposed to sending him down to Triple-A Worcester, is that pinch-runner role he plays. If the Red Sox were to start in Duran center field one day, you already have speed on the bases.
However, if Duran goes down with an injury, or if the game goes to extra innings, he can be used as a pinch-runner if they have a slow runner on as the ghost runner. There's no denying that he has blazing fast speed - just watch his inside-the-park grand slam for reference AGAINST the Red Sox.
Why He Should Get Sent Down
It's never fun to send a guy like Tapia down to Triple-A because of the potential explosiveness he can bring, but one reason to send him down is how limited his exposure has been this year, and how little he has capitalized on it. Now, if he was hitting .700+ in the 19 games he has appeared in, that would be different, but instead he is a sub .250 hitter, and has struck out twice as many times as he has walked.
In addition to all of this, if he were to stay in the big leagues, it would give Boston an influx of left-handed hitting outfielders with the potential to start. They may not start every game, but it definitely gives more flexibility to manager Alex Cora to have more righties than lefties - especially when he expects to face a string of left-handed pitching.
Overall Outcome: Red Sox outfield stays the same ... for now
On the bright side, the Red Sox don't need to make a decision for another couple of weeks, as Duvall has just gotten out of his cast and started holding a bat on Wednesday.
Even then, once he starts swinging fully, he will begin a rehab assignment in the minors for, presumably, a week or two, and then finally be brought back up. Whether it's directly to play center field or as a designated hitter at first, remains to be seen.
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