Examining the Red Sox Roster, Part 1

With the big news breaking that Carl Crawford is on the verge of signing a seven-year, $142 million deal with the Red Sox, it's about time we took a look at how the Red Sox 25-man roster shakes out as currently constituted. I'll include Crawford and Jason Varitek in the discussion even though their deals are not yet official. As with the piece on the Rockies, this is just focused on players currently on the team. As such, I've changed the title of the post from "handicapping" to "examining," as that seems a little more apt. Here's what I have:

1 SP Jon Lester
2 SP Clay Buchholz
3 SP Josh Beckett
4 SP John Lackey
5 SP Daisuke Matsuzaka
6 RP Jonathan Papelbon
7 RP Daniel Bard
8 RP Tim Wakefield
9 RP Scott Atchison
10 RP Felix Doubront
11 RP Stolmy Pimentel
12 RP Michael Bowden
13 C Jason Varitek
14 1B Adrian Gonzalez
15 2B Dustin Pedroia
16 3B Kevin Youkilis
17 SS Marco Scutaro
18 LF Carl Crawford
19 CF Jacoby Ellsbury
20 RF JD Drew
21 DH David Ortiz
22 Bench Jarrod Saltalamacchia
23 Bench Mike Cameron
24 Bench Darnell McDonald
25 Bench Jed Lowrie

At this point in the offseason, it's fairly plain that the bullpen is going to be an issue. The Sox are likely to pick up at least one more bullpen arm, but even if they get two more, Tim Wakefield is going to be a prized asset in the bullpen, assuming the five starters stay healthy (a big assumption). While Felix Doubront and Stolmy Pimentel were ranked by Baseball America as the 8th and 9th best prospect in the Red Sox system for 2011, I doubt they will be counted on to have an impact right away. And though Michael Bowden pitched better in September - he compiled a 3.86 ERA across 9 1/3 innings - he's been little more than an injury replacement/September call-up the last two years, so it is a stretch to think that he would be counted upon or handed a job right away either. Of course, the Sox may not have any choice.

But where there may be uncertainty on the pitching side of the equation, the offense is looking pretty stacked. They have the luxury of either trading an outfielder and slotting Kalish on to the big-league team, or simply keeping the uber-talented Kalish in Pawtucket to start the season. The team's short bench will be good to great, depending on how you feel about Saltalamacchia. And the lineup...wow:

LF Crawford
2B Pedroia
1B Gonzalez
3B Youkilis
DH Ortiz
RF Drew
C Varitek
CF Ellsbury
SS Scutaro

A second variation would have Ellsbury moving to leadoff, Crawford to fifth, and Ortiz, Drew and Varitek all moving down one spot, but I like Crawford better in the leadoff spot. Also, despite claims that the Sox would get too left-handed if they acquired both Crawford and Gonzalez, the above lineup goes L-R-L-R-L, making it damn near impossible to navigate the top of the lineup with a single reliever (unless the reliever is Mariano Rivera). It's a recipe for success the Sox used in 2003, times 15. In 2003, they were counting on castoffs like Jeremy Giambi, Bill Mueller and Ortiz. If this is indeed the top six in the Sox batting order, it's a top six that has seen each player spend time hitting third, and in the case of Crawford, Gonzalez, Ortiz and Drew, significant time. That's pretty rare. And pretty exciting, something the 2010 Sox most definitely were not.