It's almost September — an exciting, but nerve-wracking month for baseball fans as teams fight for a spot in the playoffs. In September, MLB active rosters also expand from 26 to 28 players which allows teams to call up top prospects or depth to replenish their exhausted rosters.
After a stunning winning streak in July and into August, the Boston Red Sox have put themselves in a position to make the playoffs without excessive concern in the underwhelming American League. Despite their relative comfort in the second Wild Card spot, the Red Sox still need all the depth they can get for their upcoming run.
Boston has multiple players returning from injury in the coming weeks including Trevor Story, Roman Anthony and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The upcoming roster crunch that's needed to fit them all onto the roster won't feel as hard knowing that two players can be called back up on September 1.
Anthony Seigler, Mickey Gasper, Nick Sogard and Andruw Monasterio are the likeliest players to be optioned upon the injured players' returns. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy has already announced that Monasterio will still get playing time in the infield upon Story and Kiner-Falefa's returns, meaning he isn't going anywhere. Between the other three players, the Sox have to hold onto Sogard and Gasper.
Nick Sogard and Mickey Gasper should stay with the Red Sox when rosters expand on September 1
Sogard and Gasper are defensively versatile and can play multiple positions around the infield. Gasper can also catch and would afford the Red Sox more flexibility behind the dish, as well as serving as insurance if Adley Rutschman or Connor Wong were to fall injured. Seigler also has a catching background, but Gasper has caught 13 games in the big leagues this season.
Gasper has been red-hot at the plate since his August 16 call-up. He's hit three home runs and plated eight runs in his last seven games and carries a slugging percentage of .700. Seigler is also surging in his last seven games (.389/.455/.556 slash line), but he hasn't hit a home run since July 24. Gasper has only just started slugging, but the Sox need all the slug they can get.
Sogard has hit only one homer in his entire major league career, but he's been too consistent to ignore. Sogard can work an at-bat better than his roster competition, as evidenced by his 20 walks compared to 23 strikeouts over 32 games. His 14.7 walk percentage is top-tier in MLB this year and he doesn't chase (22.1 chase percentage).
Gasper and Sogard bring the Red Sox a diverse offensive skillset while also being versatile defensively. If Boston options Seigler, it will be hard to see him go after his dominance during its torrid midsummer streak, but Gasper and Sogard make more sense for the team's needs down the stretch.
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