Some Food for Thought

[elktonnick]

He will be the gold glove third baseman either in 22 or 23.

[markj]

Plenty of time to clear some shelf space, then.  ;D

[longgame]

Apparently Cora said today "we have to win out".  He should have thought of that a week ago. 

[Sea Dog 23]

The field positions have some holes, no question whatsoever.  But addressing starting pitchers in the off-season is a critical area as well.  We have only two pitchers who are steady enough to get us through 6 or 7 innings, a healthy Sale and Eovaldi.  Perez, Richards and some others should be sent on their way.  The farm system is rather shallow, unless someone like Crawford or Seabold find a stroke of luck in the off-season.  Pivetta lost a lot of him command over the last three weeks of the season.  Maybe he and Houck could be bullpen guys until the coaches trust them to do anything else.  Whitlock is an emerging talent that will be interesting to watch.

A couple names I say today might interest the Sox in FA.  Marcus Stroman (3.02 era, 1.15 WHip) and Kevin Gausman (2.87 era, 1.04 WHip)  30-31 years old, and their status would not cost the Sox a draft pick in free agency.  Gausman could be pricey if he earns a World Series ring this year.

[Sea Dog 23]

With the Yankees garnering a lot of the news around baseball circles of late, there's not much coverage of other teams on the baseball sites unless you really search for it.  I found this one on mlb.com which says some things about the IL and Sox pitchers who might/might not be available this weekend or next week (that possibility ??]

RHP Phillips Valdez
Expected return: By end of regular season, if needed
Valdez joined Danny Santana in reporting to Triple-A Worcester for a rehab assignment on Sept. 29. Boston's bullpen depth has been tested of late with injuries, so it’s possible Valdez will re-enter the mix at some point. At the very least, he is a depth option if there is another injury or two in the bullpen. Valdez has pitched in 28 games for the Red Sox this season, notching a 5.85 ERA. (Last updated: Sept. 29)

INF/OF Yairo Muñoz
Expected return: TBD
Muñoz joined the Red Sox at the start of their COVID outbreak, only to test positive himself on Sept. 1. The reason Muñoz isn’t playing yet is because he has a sore right wrist. When he is cleared to play, it will most likely be for Triple-A. (Last updated: Sept. 22)

10-day IL
RHP Garrett Whitlock (right pectoral strain)
Expected return: Saturday or Sunday
Whitlock took a big step toward being able to pitch in the regular-series finale when he threw a bullpen session prior to Friday night’s game. Given that the situation the Red Sox are still fighting for a postseason berth, the return of Whitlock either Saturday or Sunday would be significant.

“Now, we have to wait to see how he feels throughout the day. I do believe he’s going to be OK,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Then we'll decide when to activate him if he's fine. You know, maybe tomorrow or Sunday, whatever it is, so we'll wait and see how he reacts.” (Last updated: Oct. 1)

LHP Josh Taylor (low back strain)
Expected back: Postseason at earliest
Taylor is not progressing as quickly from his back injury as the Red Sox hoped and there seems no chance he will return for this weekend’s series against the Nationals. In fact, the chances he could return for a tiebreaker game or the American League Wild Card Game also seems remote. Perhaps the best-case scenario would be if Taylor returns for a potential Division Series.

“Yeah, it hasn't progressed the way we thought,” said manager Alex Cora. “So we have to be patient and let's see what happens.” (Last updated: Oct. 1)

[Sea Dog 23]

The Sox have yet to finalize a roster for the ALDS.  What they have done since the WC was release Iggy and Munoz.  That allows them to possibly bring up someone from Woosta', be it bats or arms.  If JD is still not fit to play, I have an idiotic, fan-based idea to bring up Casas.  It's sounds hairbrained, and not likely to happen at all,  he has only played a few games in AAA, but maybe they saw something he could bring as a pinch hitter, that is better than what Shaw or an injured JD can offer.  He would certainly give the Boston fans something to buzz about when they return to Fenway.  Another addition could be Seabold coming out of the pen.

But back to earth, I think maybe they put JD on the roster.  He could be given the green light by the time they return to Boston.  They need his playoff experience in the clutch at bats.  Connor Wong probably stays on the roster, given his speed, pinch hitter, pinch runner, can sub at a couple positions.

[markj]

It'd be nice if JD came back and showed us he can still get a hit in a clutch at bat. Sad to see Iggy go. I can't help but feel that there is a very talented player there that just needs some coaching help to shine.

[longgame]

JD's ankle apparently looks bad but he may be ready to go by Game 3.  That's a tough call to go with a short bench for 2 games of a 5 game series.