Red Sox minor league notebook: Taking a look at WooSox Opening Day roster
We are just 10 days away from Opening Day for the Worcester Red Sox, as they start their 2024 season next Friday in Lehigh Valley.
The Red Sox have made more cuts this week from big league camp as we are starting to see how the major league and Triple-A rosters are being formed.
Before we dive in, it’s worth noting just how good of a job Craig Breslow & company did at addressing the lack of depth at the upper minor league levels. While he mostly focused on the Triple-A bullpen, the additions of Richard Fitts and Romy Gonzalez represent true major league depth pieces that will start in Triple-A that the Red Sox did not have last season.
Injuries will and have already happened for the Red Sox and the pitching depth is already coming into play. The organization is in a better place than it was a year ago and the potential WooSox roster is the ultimate showing for that statement.
Starting rotation
The starting pitching group will be anchored by left-hander Brandon Walter to begin the season. Walter will give the group an experienced capable starter who has seen time in Worcester over the past two seasons as well as MLB experience in 2023.
Grant Gambrell and Brian Van Belle will return for year two in Worcester’s starting rotation. Gambrell had a very successful short stint to close out the year and Van Belle overcame some early struggles with the automated balls and strikes at Triple-A.
Richard Fitts should be in line to grab a starting rotation spot after throwing over 150 innings in Somerset for the Yankees Double-A team last season.
The last remaining spot might have gone to left-hander Chris Murphy, but with the news of elbow soreness, nobody has any idea how long he might be out for.
The other options for the spot would be Cooper Criswell, Jason Alexander, or Hunter Dobbins. It really will depend on if Criswell makes the major league team in a swingman type of role. Alexander has MLB experience and the fifth spot in the rotation in Worcester might suit him well.
Bullpen
With Joe Jacques being optioned to Worcester on Monday, the left-hander will be one of the most experienced pitchers on the roster. One should expect to see Jacques in quite a few high leverage situations early on for the WooSox.
Zack Kelly joins Jacques with a pitcher with major league pitching experience that will be a high leverage pitcher in Worcester. Kelly was sidelined this spring with an oblique injury and it may have cost him a spot on the major league roster.
Justin Hagenman, Cam Booser, Chase Shugart, AJ Politi, and Luis Guerrero all will be back with the WooSox after seeing time there last season. All five received NRIs to big league camp.
Jorge Benitez joins the WooSox after signing with the Red Sox this offseason and impressing the team as a NRI.
That would leave one of the lefties to fill the final spot between Joely Rodriguez and Lucas Luetge. It will come down to if the Red Sox decide to keep a second lefty on the major league roster. Luetge does own an opt out if he does not make the roster.
Catchers
Tyler Heineman and Mark Kolozsvary were both outside acquisitions brought in over the offseason. Both players have MLB experience, and both are defensive minded catchers. It will be a welcome sight for the young pitchers in Worcester to have two guys like them behind the plate calling great games.
Stephen Scott is the lone returning catcher on the roster from last season who saw time behind the plate. While it is possible Scott sees time behind the plate still, we saw the Vanderbilt product get his bat in the lineup at first base and at designated hitter last season. Look for more of the same in 2024.
Roberto Perez is the biggest wild card on if he will be catching games in Worcester this season. The gold glove catchers has an opt-out in his contract that makes it a possibility that he can become a free agent if he does not make the big league team out of camp. Could a catcher needy team swoop in for his services?
Infielders
There might not be a guy who raised his stock more than Nick Sogard on the minor league position player side of things. He will return to Worcester in a super utility role that will be in the lineup almost every single day.
Bobby Dalbec, David Hamilton, and Niko Kavadas will return alongside him and will accompany minor league veteran guys like Jamie Westbrook, Eddy Alvarez, and Joe Dunand.
It is a very real possibility we see two higher end prospects start the season in Worcester in Nick Yorke and Chase Meidroth. If one or both end up on the opening day roster in Worcester, they won’t be there to sit on the bench. They would both be inserted in the lineup at second base and third base. This possibility is certainly possible after the departure of Ryan Fitzgerald, who played a lot of third and second base last season for the WooSox.
Outfielders
This group is the only one to not have a returning starter from last season. Last year on Opening Day, we saw Narciso Crook, Jarren Duran, and Ryan Fitzgerald get the start in the outfield. With Duran on the big league team and Fitzgerald and Crook out of the organization, the Red Sox have brought in Romy Gonzalez, Mark Contreras, and Dalton Guthrie to lead the charge.
All three guys bring valuable MLB experience that will be crucial if the outfield depth is needed at the big league level. Gonzalez is also a member of the 40-man roster and would be an easier call-up.
We will also see Nick Sogard and Eddy Alvarez grab some time in the outfield if needed throughout the season. We also just might see top prospect Nick Yorke grab some time out there as well, as Vaughn Grissom will be locked into second base at the major league level.
