With rosters set to expand on Tuesday, the Red Sox appear ready to bring in a familiar kind of piece for the stretch run: a veteran who can move around the diamond and keep the lineup flexible.
Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said Monday that Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the "likely" addition on the position player side. According to Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH, the club is still sorting out its pitching plan, and that decision depends in part on who takes the mound Monday night.
"Isiah Kiner-Falefa is the likely addition to the roster tomorrow, per Chad Tracy," Alexander wrote. "They are still trying to figure out the pitching plan, which is partially based on who throws tonight."
Major League Baseball’s rosters go from 26 to 28 on Sep. 1, and Kiner-Falefa had already looked like the most probable call-up. Boston has been juggling a roster crunch with Roman Anthony and Trevor Story both on the Injured List and rehabbing, which opened the door for questions about who would make room for him.
Kiner-Falefa said last week that he would be fully willing to wait until Sep. 1 rather than come up sooner if that helped the Red Sox handle the numbers game.
Boston also shuffled the roster on Sunday, optioning Mickey Gasper and Anthony Seigler to Triple-A. Gasper was recalled Monday, though, after Willson Contreras was placed on the Injured List.
Kiner-Falefa may not bring the upside of a player like Anthony, but he does bring something the Red Sox clearly value right now: reliability and versatility. He can handle all four infield spots, which matters even more with Contreras sidelined.
He also has playoff mileage. Kiner-Falefa owns 21 games of postseason experience, including 15 with the Toronto Blue Jays last year during their run to the World Series.
Boston already has several players in the same utility mold, including Nick Sogard and Andruw Monasterio on the big league roster, along with Seigler and Romy González in Triple-A. Once Kiner-Falefa is activated, the Red Sox will have three such players in the majors.
On paper, that may not look like a perfect fit. But the Red Sox are building a roster that can shift and adjust, and that kind of flexibility can matter once October arrives.
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