Three WooSox infielders that could be next to receive MLB promotions
The Red Sox are dealing with a handful of injuries to infielders early on to begin the season. With Romy Gonzalez on the injured list with a left wrist sprain, Rafael Devers dealing with a barking shoulder, and Enmanuel Valdez nursing a left thumb contusion, Boston may need to dig deeper into their internal depth for help.
If the Red Sox need to make another move to address the infield depth, there are two names on the WooSox that could be immediate options.
Versatile infielders Eddy Alvarez and Nick Sogard could be the next in-line and called upon for Boston.
Alvarez has 50 big league games under his belt, playing for the Marlins and Dodgers during his career. The 34-year-old is 23-for-126 (.183) with one homer, 11 RBIs, four stolen bases, and a .524 in the bigs.
This season with the WooSox, he is hitting .233 with two homers, five RBIs, one stolen base, five runs, and a .833 OPS.
The Florida native has played at second base, left field, and right field and has been a designated hitter for the WooSox early on this season. During his career, Alvarez had experience at shortstop and third base as well.
Sogard is an interesting option for the Red Sox, offering positional versatility all over the infield and having played the outfield in the minors. The 26-year-old has some feel at the plate and is strong defensively.
“If you come watch me for a day, you are probably not going to notice that I was on the field,” Sogard said to Beyond the Monster. “If you come for a month or two, you will probably leave saying I am a pretty good player.”
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound infielder had a strong spring, hitting .304 with two homers, two doubles, seven RBIs, one stolen base, four walks, and a 1.045 OPS across 17 Grapefruit League games.
To open the WooSox season, Sogard is hitting .184 (9-for-49) with one home run, nine RBIs, and a .527 OPS.
Boston initially acquired Sogard from the Rays along with catcher Ronaldo Hernandez back in February 2021 for right-handed pitcher Chris Mazza and left-hander Jeffrey Springs.
Both players could fill the void on the Red Sox bench as quality depth options if anyone else goes down. Boston will be getting Vaughn Grissom back soon; he just began his 20-day rehab stint with the WooSox on Friday. He went 0-for-3 as the designated hitter during the game against the Syracuse Mets.
One other player to keep an eye on is Jamie Westbrook. The veteran infielder joined the Red Sox this offseason, and after the spring, he was optioned to Triple-A Worcester.
Westbrook has never played above Triple-A and has played in 1120 MiLB games. He has experience at every position in the minors except center field and catcher. The 28-year-old is hitting .200 with one homer, two RBIs, eight walks, and owns a .779 OPS.
All three of these players are not on the 40-man roster and would need to be added in order to be placed on the 26-man roster. The Red Sox can free up a 40-man roster spot by moving Trevor Story from the 10-day IL to the 60-day. Another option the Red Sox could look at is signing free agent Tony Kemp, who was just released by the Orioles this week following the promotion of Jackson Holliday from Triple-A Norfolk.
