Red Sox Prospect ‘All In’ On Sudden Position Change
The Red Sox aren’t afraid of experimentation, huh?
Boston, knowing it has an opportunity to make some serious noise over the coming weeks, has continued its quest at upgrading potentially flawed positions on the roster by asking a few top prospects to make changes.
Peyton Tolle, the club’s top pitching prospect, was promoted from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester. David Sandlin, perhaps the closest prospect in the system to a major league promotion, made a semi-permanent move to the bullpen. Jhostynxon Garcia, the club’s top position prospect, has even started taking reps at first base.
It’s all about finding a way to help the big league club…
Garcia’s position change is particularly notable given how tremendous he’s always looked in the outfield, where he’s played above-average defense and slashed .307/.372/.589 with 16 home runs and 49 RBIs since being promoted to play with the WooSox on May 20. The Red Sox don’t need outfielders, though, so if they believe his bat will play at the next level, they need to find him some reps at first.
“If that’s the only way we can speed him up, then we might have to do it,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy told The Boston Globe. “We take into consideration, ultimately, if he makes a mistake and it’s costly, oh well, at least it’s not at Fenway… At the same time, you also don’t want to throw a player out there to the wolves who you feel like is not ready and have him standing out there with his shoulders down feeling like he’s costing the team.”
How does he feel about the move?
“I can tell you: The kid is all in,” Tracy said. “We mentioned it to him: ‘Yep, let’s go.'”
The Red Sox have made several moves at the position this season, particularly in the minor leagues. Kristian Campbell made his debut at the position last month and could potentially be an option down the stretch, especially if there’s an injury with the big league club. Blaze Jordan was traded at the deadline in order to obtain bullpen depth.
It’s only a matter of time before they make another move, we just have to wait and see whether it will be a promotion.