Red Sox release ALDS roster with J.D. Martinez on it

The Red Sox have announced their ALDS roster this morning, and the big news is that J.D. Martinez is on it. There are other things to talk about, but first here’s how the roster lays out.

Pitchers (13)

Ryan Brasier, Austin Davis, Nathan Eovaldi, Tanner Houck, Adam Ottavino, Martín Pérez, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Richards, Hansel Robles, Eduardo Rodriguez, Chris Sale, Josh Taylor, Garrett Whitlock

Catchers (2)

Kevin Plawecki, Christian Vázquez

Infielders (5)

Christian Arroyo, Xander Bogaerts, Bobby Dalbec, Rafael Devers, Travis Shaw

Outfielders (4)

J.D. Martinez, Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Schwarber, Alex Verdugo

IF/OF (2)

Kiké Hernández, Danny Santana

• Like I said, the big news here is certainly with Martinez, and his inclusion has a few ripple effects that we’ll talk about in a second. What will be really interesting, though, is to see both how much he can play, and if he starts who gets bumped out. My guess is that, against righties, we’ll see Bobby Dalbec on the bench with Kyle Schwarber at first, but the calculation becomes more difficult against lefties. And they’ll be facing a southpaw in Game One, so we’ll get our answer sooner than later.
• The big surprise on the roster for me is Danny Santana. The Red Sox outrighted José Iglesias off the 40-man on Wednesday, and it turns out this is why. I get the logic here, as they wanted to carry 13 pitchers, and Santana can theoretically serve in the roles that would go to both Jarren Duran and Jonathan Araúz. He can be the speed guy and the backup middle infielder. To me that’s not a good enough reason and I’d rather have Araúz because he can also do both of those things and I have slightly more faith in the bat, but it’s ultimately the last bench spot and hopefully shouldn’t come into play. If he has to take an at bat, though, something has gone wrong.
• On the pitching side, the big surprise is Martín Pérez being on there and Matt Barnes not. In a vacuum, I don’t think there’s any doubt I have more faith in Barnes than Pérez. That said, the latter can eat more innings in the event of a blowout so you don’t have to use pitchers you trust more, and he’s also a lefty. The Rays have some left-handed bats who have rough platoon splits, so I understand wanting another lefty. I don’t agree with it, though. I’d probably carry 12 pitchers and carry both Duran and Araúz rather than rostering either Pérez or Santana. Still, similar to what we said about Santana, Pérez is the last man in this bullpen. If he’s pitching important innings, we have bigger problems on our hands.