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Opening Day is here, you guys. We’ve known for a few days what the roster would look like to start the year, but the semantics of how they’d get there were a bit of a mystery. The biggest surprises to make the roster were, of course, Bobby Poyner and Marcus Walden. Everything else went as expected. However, both Poyner and Walden had to be added to the 40-man roster prior to first pitch. The Red Sox had opened up one spot when they sent Deven Marrero out to Arizona, but they still had to create one more opening. They did that by sending Marco Hernandez to the 60-day disabled list. Here’s the full list of moves.
#RedSox announce roster moves: pic.twitter.com/2mpCLBZroM
— Guerin Austin (@guerinaustin) March 29, 2018
None of the players starting on the disabled list — Hernandez, Dustin Pedroia, Drew Pomeranz, Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez, Tyler Thornburg and Austin Maddox — are much of a surprise, but it was unclear who would be placed on the 60-day to create the necessary open 40-man roster spot. With Hernandez being placed there, he won’t be eligible to return to the majors until the end of May. In a way, this is encouraging. Not because Hernandez can’t help the roster, but it shows that there is at least some reason to believe guys like Pedroia, Thornburg and Maddox can be ready to go before that. With Maddox and Thornburg in particular it’s been a bit mysterious on their timetable.
Also included in that release are the uniform numbers for Poyner and Walden. I’ve never been one of the people who memorizes roster numbers, but for those who are here you go. Poyner in particular is interesting, taking the satanical 66.
So, here we go. Everything is set. Baseball is here. Here’s the final reminder of how the roster stands.
Catchers
Christian Vazquez
Sandy Leon
Blake Swihart
Infielders
Hanley Ramirez
Mitch Moreland
Eduardo Nuñez
Xander Bogaerts
Rafael Devers
Brock Holt
Outfielders
Andrew Benintendi
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Mookie Betts
J.D. Martinez
Starting Pitchers
Chris Sale
David Price
Rick Porcello
Hector Velazquez
Brian Johnson
Relief Pitchers
Craig Kimbrel
Carson Smith
Matt Barnes
Joe Kelly
Heath Hembree
Bobby Poyner (L)
Marcus Walden