The Red Sox Candidates for Roster Expansion

Sooner than later, it will be September 1st, and that means one thing for all 30 MLB teams: roster expansion. Teams’ rosters have expanded from 26 to 28 players, and a team pushing for the playoffs, like the Red Sox, who are in a playoff spot, needs all the reinforcements they can get. Additionally, the Red Sox have entered a bit of a skid these past few days, so a player getting hot for September can be a major asset. The Red Sox also have plenty of depth options in AAA, some with big league experience, some on the cusp of the big leagues, and a couple that could return from injury.

First, there are a couple of infield bats in Worcester that have big league experience this season. The first name in the running is Romy Gonzalez. After getting surgery on his left shoulder in March, Gonzalez returned in late June, after a brief rehab stint, and failed to be the reliable, power-hitting platoon infielder he was in 2025, which led to him getting optioned on August 4th. Since then, Gonzalez has continued to struggle, albeit in a limited sample size, as he is slashing .240/.296/.280, with a .576 OPS. On the bright side, he does have a hard-hit rate over 50%, which is encouraging. Defensively, Gonzalez is limited to mainly first and second base, and could play third in a pinch, but will have to turn it around if he wants a spot, as he has to compete with Nick Sogard, Anthony Siegler, Andruw Monasterio, and Willson Contreras for playing time. Additionally, Tsung-Che Cheng is another player of interest. While he lacks impact with the bat, Cheng makes good swing decisions, evident in his walk rate of almost 14% at Worcester this year. However, Cheng is an option mainly due to his speed and defense in the middle infield, which is why he made a brief cameo with the big club this year, and if he returns, he would play in a similar role.

On the pitching front, a couple of pitchers could return to the big squad to bolster the bullpen and end the incessant shuffling of fringe guys. Recently, the Red Sox have opted to supplement a taxed bullpen with players like Raymond Burgos and Seth Martinez, who add little value. Thankfully, the Red Sox do have a couple of lefties already on the 40-man roster, Tyler Samaniego and Eduardo Rivera, who can both be assets. While in the big leagues this year, Samaniego posted a 2.66 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP, which isn’t representative of his success, as he had a couple of rough outings towards the end of his stint. His struggles continued to AAA, where he currently has a 4.33 ERA with a 4.88 FIP, but he has allowed a ton of weak contact down there, boasting a hard-hit rate of 27.8% and an average EV of 86. Along with his advanced command, he could return to the big league club and be a big asset.

Another option is bringing up Eduardo Rivera again. While he struggled as an opener for the big club, he has an imposing frame, a unique delivery, and power stuff, highlighted by a good fastball/slider combo, which has led to weak contact and whiffs at AAA, and if he leans on that further, he could be a good big league reliever.

Alternatively, the Red Sox could opt to go for some prospects that aren’t on the 40-man roster, but have played more than well enough for a roster spot. The first player on this list is top prospect Franklin Arias. Coming into the year, Arias was known as a shortstop with great defense, a great hit tool, but less-than-average power, but he has changed his outlook entirely. In Portland this season, he hit 19 home runs, which was more than he had hit professionally (18 from 2023-25), while slashing .318/.407/.587, along with maintaining his elite defense. Arias was then promoted to AAA, where he’s continued to rake, with a .298/.359/509 line, with 3 homers so far. His batted ball data is also extremely promising, as he’s making contact with almost 90% of pitches in the zone, and he’s blasting those balls at a high rate, boasting an average EV of 91.3 and a hard-hit rate of 48.9%. Although the Red Sox want to be patient with him to avoid past mistakes, he’s making it incredibly hard to do so.

On the pitching side of things, there is Angel Bastardo, who was a Rule 5 selection by Toronto but was returned to Boston, where he has thrived. Bastardo’s arsenal is led by a mid-90’s fastball that has topped at 99, but batters are able to tee off on it. However, he does have a nasty changeup that is more vertical in nature, but batters have no answer for it, as they are whiffing almost half the time. Bastardo also has a sharp gyro-like slider that generates a whiff rate of over 37%, and has an xwOBA of .221. With it being that dominant, he could be even better if he trimmed his fastball usage in favor of the slider.

Finally, both the injured Trevor Story and Roman Anthony are also options that the Red Sox have if they return from injury soon. Story is on the 60-day IL as he is still recovering from a sports hernia surgery that he had in May. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Story was “creeping closer” to game action, but there isn’t a timeline for his return. With the potential of Story coming back, there is no guarantee of him being useful. Before he went on the IL, Story provided negative value with both the bat and the glove, but he wasn’t fully healthy then. Ideally, Story comes back at 100% health and can play as he did in 2025, where he was a great right-handed power hitter with speed. Roman Anthony has been putting in work with the Trajekt machine and is also nearing a rehab assignment. Having Roman back would be a big boost, as although his production was limited by his wrist injury, he was still hitting the ball incredibly well and got on base at a high clip, which are two things the Red Sox offense needs.