With their playoff hopes dashed long ago, the Boston Red Sox are left to evaluate the players on their roster with an eye toward 2015 for the rest of the season.
That’s a task that will become easier in September, when MLB rosters expand and the Sox are afforded the chance to view more players in a major league setting and to get their ever-increasing pool of young players some experience in the big leagues.
The Sox have a tremendously deep farm system rich in prospects in the upper minors, which should make September an exciting time. Fans will get to lay eyes on some heralded prospects for the first time, and Boston’s player evaluators will get a better idea as to who belongs in Boston’s 2015 plans.
To be sure, the Red Sox won’t be able to summon every interesting or deserving name to the majors next month. And don’t expect every player promoted to be wildly interesting.
Matt Barnes, Travis Shaw and Blake Swihart are names Red Sox fans will be familiar with, and their prospect statuses may suggest that we’d see them in September. None of these players is currently on the 40-man roster, though, and none play at a position of particular need for Boston right now.
Players like Bryce Brentz and Drake Britton do occupy spots on the 40-man roster, but they haven’t played well enough in the minors to warrant any sort of playing time in the majors this fall. Even if they’re thrown on the roster, don’t expect them to see any time.
And finally, players like Dan Butler, Ryan Lavarnway and Alex Hassan could all be promoted in September, but their futures with the Red Sox are so marginal that they’re not worth covering in-depth here.
With those caveats out of the way, let’s take a look at the six Red Sox prospects likely to see promotions in September who could have meaningful impacts on 2015 and beyond.