Articles By Jason Stellakis

  With spring training games just beginning, competitions for certain spots begin. Although there are projections on players who will make the roster, I believe there are always a few guys per year who have a case to be on that 26-man opening day roster. The following guys I am going to mention, in my opinion, have a real shot at making the opening day roster.  Enmanuel Valdez Why: The depth up the middle for the Red Sox is arguably the biggest hole of the team. With Adalberto Mondesi likely to start on the Injured List, the Red Sox have thin depth at the shortstop and second base. Kiké Hernandez is the projected starting shortstop, and Christian Arroyo is the projected second baseman. However, they lack major league experienced middle infielders on their 40-man roster. Enmanuel Valdez, who is having quite the spring training as we speak, has a bat that seems major league ready, according to some experts. In the minor leagues last season, Valdez hit .296/.376/.545 between AA a...

  Red Sox pitcher Brayan Bello is set to resume throwing tomorrow after being shut down for the weekend due to forearm soreness. Bello in 2022 posted a 4.71 ERA in 11 starts and posted a 2.59 ERA in his final six starts. He struck out 55 batters in his 11 starts.  Bello is key if the Red Sox are going to contend this year. If he has injury concerns all season, it is very hard to envision a scenario where the Red Sox are contenders. The Red Sox are banking on the young ace to develop into the next potential ace of the rotation.  Bello is poised to be really good this season if he is fully healthy. He has the stuff to be a really good arm for this Red Sox team down the stretch, but the Red Sox are asking for him to do so much. It is reasonable to assume that the Red Sox are banking him to be a front end, 1A starter. There are so many question marks with a pitcher like him, like if he can stay healthy and if he can have a really good breakout season after an experimental 202...

  Keith Law of The Athletic released his annual rankings of farm systems. Law ranked the Red Sox as the seventh worst farm system. This is a shocker to some fans, as Chaim Bloom’s minor league system has some spectacular young talent. However, in Law’s article, he mentions that the Red Sox have position player prospects in the upper half of farm systems, but the pitching lacks good prospects. In the past few decades, there have only been a few pitching prospects the Sox have fully developed, like Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Tanner Houck. Although the jury is still out on Houck, it is evident that the Sox have failed to develop pitching aces. The question for the Sox has always been surrounding pitching. In a league where any team needs a solid homegrown pitching system, it seems like the Sox are far from that. Sure, there are the likings of some prospects, like Bryan Mata or Brandon Walter, who have tremendous upside. Unfortunately, they did not crack the top 100 prospects on M...

  MLB Pipeline released the 2023 list for top prospects , and Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer ranks 9th overall. The poised superstar has the potential to become the league’s best shortstop once he reaches the major leagues.  In his 91 games played in 2022 combined in both Single-A Salem and High-A Greenville, Mayer slashed .280/.399/.489 with 13 HRs . The number four overall pick in 2021 has real potential But he is only a prospect, and all people can do is make assumptions to how he will pan out. With the departure of longtime SS Xander Bogaerts, it can be implied that the Red Sox are reliant on Mayer making the major leagues in just one or two seasons. Because Mayer has only played in Single A, he is most likely going to need two seasons in the minors before he gets a taste of the bigs. With this all being said, the Red Sox are taking a huge risk with Mayer. It is a good time to remember that top prospects do not always pan out. It happened in 1993 with the Yankees and p...

  The Red Sox have traded relief pitcher Matt Barnes to the Miami Marlins in exchange for lefty Richard Bleir on Tuesday. Barnes was DFA’d by the Red Sox just six days prior to the trade.  This is surprising to say the least. Barnes could have gone through the same thing Eric Hosmer did: clear waivers and sign for veterans minimum elsewhere. But ultimately, Barnes has a new home in Miami.  Richard Bleir in 2022 posted a 3.55 ERA in 55 games with Miami. The southpaw is known for his low walk percentage. It was clear the Red Sox needed more lefty depth in the bullpen alongside newly acquired Joely Rodriguez, and it seems like they got their guy.  However, the Red Sox still need to clear up a spot on the 40-man roster. It seems like relief pitcher Ryan Braiser will stay put after comments made by Chaim Bloom last week. One candidate is Kaleb Ort, who posted a 6.35 ERA in 25 games in 2022. The wait-and-see game resumes for the time being. 

  As the clock ticks until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, it is clear that the Red Sox need to add depth to their middle infield. In the effort to do so, the Red Sox traded southpaw reliever Josh Taylor to the Kansas City Royals for infielder Adalberto Mondesi and either a player to be named later or cash considerations.  This trade makes some fans happy, while it causes others to scratch their heads. Although he provides some depth up the middle, he has struggled to stay on the field in his major league career. In his major league career, he has only managed to play over 75 games in his career once (2018). However, on the upside, he has proved he can be a speedy player on the bases, stealing 24 bases during the pandemic season.  There is the possibility Mondesi will miss the start of the 2023 season recovering from a torn left ACL , per President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom. Something the Red Sox currently need is a player who can play many games...