Michael Bowden Among Four Shipped to Minors

I sort of thought they would just send Lowrie down so he could get some more reps in so he can come in and be ready if needed later in the year.

Lowell might not be on the Opening Day roster due to injury concerns…

Lowrie isn’t close to the opening day roster. He’s only played a few games and hasn’t been able to work out effectively with the mono- I’d guess he’d be a couple weeks away even if the plan was to have him on the MLB roster.

I don’t think that was ever even the plan, I think he’s starting at AAA again.

Bench spot goes to Lowell or, if Lowell can’t play or is traded, Hulett.

I’m sure the Sox don’t want to DL Lowell unless really necessary as that doesn’t look good for teams that may be interested in him.

lowrie will never be better than a good backup infielder with the sox (he can play 3 spots of the infield north of the plate) .

barring any starter injuries, lowrie may be traded.

bowden’s delivery reminds me of k faulks and struggled as a starter but found himself with the A’s as a closer. he maybe in the minors for a long time

I sort of see him like Masterson now, maybe long relief/spot starts maybe in the future. He needs to prove though that his time in the big show last year was a fluke and that he will never ever do anything like that again.

if he kills in AAA this year, maybe bring him up to the majors for a spot start in the majors as a showcase and use him as trade bait- if he doesn’t seem better than last year (and last year he looked pretty good in AAA) I’d guess he’s got a career as a long man/spot starter- not sure he necessarily has a role as that with the sox either, as I’m guessing that’s where tazawa ends up as well.

He’s a decent pitcher, but a lot closer to just another guy. I would wager a number of organizations, especially smaller market NL teams, would have put him in the rotation by now. He’s not a big part of our plans.

They’ve given him some stuff to work on and he’ll do that at Pawtucket. He’s useful depth and a major league quality pitcher… but he doesn’t have a role on this team other than insurance. If he pitches poorly at Pawtucket he will be forgotten for another year. If he pitches well he could get a spot start or two down the stretch and/or a job in the pen. I don’t want to sound like I’m knocking Bowden – I’m not. Every GM in the game would love to have a guy like this around with options. We essentially have two guys like this (MLB ready pitching prospect, not overwhelming stuff, useful MLB pitcher w/ a little upside who can start or relieve and has options left) in Bowden and Tazawa… and that’s awesome to have.

He’s really in direct competition with Tazawa for playing time this season. I sort of expect we’ll see them both.

If he pitches well he could be a nice trade chip at the deadline, too.

I was thinking the Sox might look at him if they don’t think Hall can adequately cover short

It’s SPRING TRAINING.

Adrian Gonzalez has an OPS of .489. Carlos Pena is at .371, Nate McLouth isn’t even touching .200!

Spring training stats just don’t matter much, if at all.

not for a while anyways.

I’m guessing Bonser is starting on the DL and Nelson and Atchison are in to start.