Red Sox player power rankings: a few trades shake things up
The additions of Aaron Hill, Drew Pomeranz, Brad Ziegler, and Michael Martinez shake things up a bit.
COMMENTARY
The Red Sox have imported four new players since our last edition, and three others have landed on the disabled list. In other words, the roster is in flux right now. Luckily, the core remains the same, and the team is on a roll, despite the poor showing Sunday night in the Bronx. If they keep this up, it’ll be soon hard to remember that manager John Farrell was ever on the hot seat. The team is as well positioned to take the American League East crown as they have been all season, especially if Eduardo Rodriguez really can (finally) hold down that last spot in the starting rotation.
29. Clay Buchholz (29): With Junichi Tazawa eligible to come off the disabled list this week, someone is going to get squeezed out of the lineup. The leading candidates seem to be Clay Buchholz and Tommy Layne. We’ll see if the Red Sox can finally cut the cord and give Buchholz the chance to resurrect his career somewhere else.
28. Sean O’Sullivan (25): With the addition of Drew Pomeranz and the (for now) re-emergence of Rodriguez, O’Sullivan is (for now) unneeded on the roster. If Rodriguez holds his spot, expect O’Sullivan to be demoted back to Triple-A when he’s activated from the disabled list.
27. Tommy Layne (19): Another player in danger of losing his spot is Layne, who has been used sparingly. He hasn’t pitched poorly – in fact, by metrics like FIP- this has been his best full season in the majors. The issue is that it has come mostly in low leverage situations, as Farrell simply hasn’t developed trust in Layne.
26. Michael Martinez (NR): The utility man was added to the active roster on July 9th , but didn’t actually get into a game until he served as a pinch runner for David Ortiz on Sunday night. With the team having so many players who can play multiple positions, Martinez figures to be the “break only in case of emergency” player. But he still serves a positive purpose, as his presence allows Marco Hernandez the chance to go down to Pawtucket and see regular action, which he wasn’t going to do with the big club.
25. Ryan Hanigan (28): He’s active again, and he even managed to pop his first homer of the season. He’s now just hitting 66 percent worse than league average. Progress!
24. Robbie Ross Jr. (24): While he may see some high leverage work with Tazawa and Craig Kimbrel on the disabled list, if/when the bullpen gets back to full strength, Ross may find himself lower in the pecking order.
23. Craig Kimbrel (8): I get that Kimbrel hadn’t been as good in non-save situations this year, but hurting yourself while shagging flies during batting practice is a bit extreme!
22. Chris Young (21): With Brock Holt back and Bryce Brentz playing well, the team hasn’t missed Young as much as once thought, but it will still be nice to get him back in the lineup.
21. Bryce Brentz (20): The former first round pick has showed well in his limited playing time, and at the very least should be a solid Quad-A player moving forward.
20. Junichi Tazawa (12): He should come off the DL very soon, but the stint is a little bit troubling, as is his velocity chart – there’s a lot fewer 95 mph pitches on it than there used to be.
19. Aaron Hill (NR): The veteran infielder should be a valuable part-time player down the stretch, seeing time mostly at third base.
18. Heath Hembree (11): As the bullpen turns, so are the days of our relievers. For a minute, Hembree looked to be on the fast track to being one of the most trusted bullpen arms, but then Matt Barnes quickly became the reliever du jour, and then the team acquired Brad Ziegler. Still, with a 2.00 ERA, Hembree has done nothing to earn a demotion.
17. Eduardo Rodriguez (NR): He held the Yankees to one run over seven innings on Saturday in his return to the rotation, but he only struck out one batter, walking two. Rodriguez has the chance to hold down that fifth and final rotation spot, but few will feel comfortable about it if he doesn’t start getting some more punch outs.
16. Brad Ziegler (NR): Over the last three seasons, the only qualified relief pitcher who has generated a higher percentage of ground balls than Ziegler is Orioles closer Zach Britton. Expect to see a lot of worm burners from Boston’s new reliever.
15. Matt Barnes (17): With just one walk allowed in his last 10 appearances, Barnes has finally got a lid on his control issues. With the Sox supplementing the team with veterans, Barnes turned the corner at the right time.
14. Sandy Leon (18): Have a month, Sandy Leon! His batting average on balls in play is a whopping .553, which obviously isn’t going to continue – the BABIP record was set by Babe Ruth in 1923, at .423. Still, this is one hell of a ride.
13. Travis Shaw (15): Shaw has regained his stroke recently, but it might have come a little late, as he’s now destined to lose some playing time to Hill.
12. Koji Uehara (23): He’s still having the worst season of his career, and he still has the worst ERA and FIP among the seven Red Sox relievers who have tossed 20-plus innings this season, but he’s also now been thrust back into the closer’s role. This stretch of the season until Kimbrel returns could define both Uehara’s season as well as the bullpen pecking order for the stretch run. No biggie.
11. Brock Holt (14): He continues to make his presence felt, even if he is splitting time with Brentz. He’s reached base in all seven games since he returned from the DL, and he reached at least twice in four of the seven.
10. Rick Porcello (9): The quietest man in the rotation remains steady as he goes. He’s still not walking people, and as a result he keeps the team in just about every game he pitches.
9. Drew Pomeranz (NR): Pomeranz becomes the first newcomer to these power rankings to crack the top 10. As I wrote here on Friday, I’m a big fan of the trade. The Sox got the pitcher they wanted and they kept Yoan Moncada and Andrew Benintendi. Giddy up!
8. Hanley Ramirez (3): Ramirez isn’t smashing homers like we thought he would, but he’s getting the job done. He’s just one of 16 players in the game this year who have turned more than 10 percent of their ground balls into infield hits. #hustlinhanley
7. David Price (10): The wolves are going to be at his door every time he allows more than one run, and that’s fine. I’m not going to tell you not to be mad at him for subpar outings. But Price still isn’t the problem. Even if he only gave up one run last night, the offense only rapped out three hits. It’s tough to win with that level of support.
6. Dustin Pedroia (7): July hasn’t been kind to Pedroia in recent years. From 2013-2015, he hit just .231/.292/.312 in July across 243 plate appearances. So far this July, he’s hitting .275/.351/.412, so hopefully he’s over this recent spate of July doldrums.
5. Jackie Bradley Jr. (6): Should Jackie Bradley Jr. get to 20 home runs this season (he’s at 14 right now), he’ll become just the ninth Red Sox center fielder to turn that trick, joining Tony Armas, Ellis Burks, Johnny Damon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Everett, Fred Lynn, Jackie Jensen and Reggie Smith.
4. Xander Bogaerts (4): The top of the rankings has solidified somewhat, as the core of the team has been consistently excellent. Right now, Bogaerts is learning how to be pitched around, as he has walked as many times as he’s struck out this month.
3. David Ortiz (2): Anyone anticipating the first Ortiz vs. Aroldis Chapman matchup ever came away disappointed, as Ortiz walked on four pitches, with none of the quartet being particularly close to the strike zone. Reverential deference or a bout of wildness? You be the judge.
2. Steven Wright (5): After allowing at least four runs in his three previous starts, Wright got back to business on Friday, allowing just three across six innings, and carrying a perfect game into the fifth inning.
1. Mookie Betts (1): Here’s the full list of Red Sox players who have put up 15/15 or better seasons by the end of their age-23 seasons: Mookie Betts, Burks, Smith and Nomar Garciaparra. All but Nomar did it twice.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com