Part of a Borchard article,

Article

 

ROSTER PLANS: With three weeks until Opening Day, the Sox' roster is close to being complete.

 

The starting pitchers are likely to be Mark Buehrle, Esteban Loaiza, Jon Garland, Scott Schoeneweis and Dan Wright. The bullpen is expected to include Billy Koch, Damaso Marte, Shingo Takatsu, Cliff Politte, Kelly Wunsch, Mike Jackson and Jason Grilli.

 

The starting position players will be catcher Miguel Olivo, first baseman Paul Konerko, second baseman Willie Harris, shortstop Jose Valentin, third baseman Joe Crede, left fielder Carlos Lee, center fielder Aaron Rowand and Ordonez. Designated hitter Frank Thomas and catcher Sandy Alomar Jr. have secured spots, while Ross Gload and Juan Uribe will be utility players. The favorite to grab the final spot is Jamie Burke, who can catch as well as play third base and outfield.

Why has Rauch fallen off the radar the past couple of days? His 1st outing was very good and his 2nd outing was so-so, but he has performed no worse or better than Grilli(for example). I realize that if Grilli is no kept on the roster, than the Marlins will get him back, but I don't understand why Rauch has all of a sudden fallen off the radar. I think his upside is better than any of the other bottom of the rotation pitchers(Schoeneweis, Wright, Grilli). He had a solid year last year, including a great 2nd half, and it puzzles me that no one mentions him. I can understand sending Cotts to AAA to prove that last year wasn't a fluke and improve his control, but Rauch has nothing left to prove in the minors(IMO). Oh well, I guess it is good to have enough depth that Rauch doesn't make the roster.

When do we start seeing the cuts happening to get to the real roster? I would think in the next week or two right?

If it is a coin flip between Rauch and Grilli, I think we need to keep Grilli. If Jon doesn't get a call up this season, his days as a WS may be over. A trade of prospects or draft pick may be prudent. Damn, and I like the guy.

I agree TexSox. I think we need to keep Grilli, as well. There is a whole lot of potential there if he can stay healthy. By the end of May, Grilli and Cotts might be our #4 and #5 starters. We need that kind of depth.

if sox can keep ss and dw around jg should be no problem on this team.

I agree TexSox.  I think we need to keep Grilli, as well.  There is a whole lot of potential there if he can stay healthy.  By the end of May, Grilli and Cotts might be our #4 and #5 starters.  We need that kind of depth.

Can't argue much with the analysis of you and TexSox, but I think the same could be said about Rausch. At this point it looks like we keep only one (Grilli or Rausch) and it will be hard. Jon has done a real good job this year in ST. Maybe it will hinge on how the Shoe does in the regular season.

When do we start seeing the cuts happening to get to the real roster? I would think in the next week or two right?

We might even see some more moves being done on Thursday, which is an off day for the Sox. Ozzie may announce who has won the 5th starters job, etc, and some of the fringe players may get the word on being sent down.

We might even see some more moves being done on Thursday, which is an off day for the Sox. Ozzie may announce who has won the 5th starters job, etc, and some of the fringe players may get the word on being sent down.

I sure hope its sooner than later because some of these minor leaguers and fringe players are killing me. I think most of the losses suffered this ST are due to poor play from those players.

how long does grilli have to be on the 25 man roster to keep him?

We might even see some more moves being done on Thursday, which is an off day for the Sox. Ozzie may announce who has won the 5th starters job, etc, and some of the fringe players may get the word on being sent down.

I doubt Ozzie will announce that until near the end of Spring Training, or so I'd assume..

how long does grilli have to be on the 25 man roster to keep him?

This entire season.

thats kind of a down side because we either keep him or he's back to the marlins. if we had the option to send him to the minors it would be a lot easier for management to make a decision on how many pitchers to keep. i think ozzie will go with 12 just to keep grilli.

The Sox could keep Gilli and send him down to Charlotte if two things happen:

 

1. He clears waivers and no other team claims him with the intent of keeping him on their 25-man roster.

 

2. The Sox work out a trade with the Marlins for the right to keep him. It would cost the Sox another Minor Leaguer.

 

Otherwise, if the Sox want to send him to AAA at any point this season, he will have to be offered back to Florida for $25k.

Thanx for the info Rex. Knowing how cheap this organization is.. I'm sure we'll just keep him instead of paying that 25k.

Thanx for the info Rex. Knowing how cheap this organization is.. I'm sure we'll just keep him instead of paying that 25k.

Lots of teams do this. If they really think the guy will pay dividends down the road, hiding the guy on the roster for a year is worth it. You could be getting a huge prospect for nothing. No trade, no draft pick, just $50,000, which is way cheaper than anything else a team can do.

Thanx for the info Rex. Knowing how cheap this organization is.. I'm sure we'll just keep him instead of paying that 25k.

No, the Marlins would have to give the Sox $25k. The Sox paid $50k to pick him up in the first place.

 

I don't think the Sox will try to "hide" him on their roster. If he can contribute, they will keep him. If they want to keep him but send him down, they will try and make a trade for him, assuming he clears waivers.

If Rauch and Grilli are neck and neck, I'd say keep Grilli up. Rauch can be sent down without running the risk of losing him. After reading Bullard's rant about the overabundance of pitchers at the minor league camp, I wonder if KW has a minor deal in the works to pick up a solid infield prospect or something.