This is a stressful time of year for many Major League Baseball lower-majors baseball players.
The Boston Red Sox, like the other 29 teams in the league, will soon have to finalize their 40-player winter roster. Then, even if players make it through the initial cuts, there will still be other moves to consider signing any free agents.
For those who didn’t live up to expectations this past season, there’s a feeling that every mid-season break could be the day the Red Sox cut staff. That list certainly includes speedy interior lineman David Hamilton, who took a significant step back from his rookie season a year ago.
Is Hamilton’s place in the 40-man squad under threat?
On Tuesday, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo named Hamilton as thecandidate is eliminatedfrom the list of 40 players due to upcoming transfers from major leagues. This removal could come through a transfer, or simply Hamilton being designated for a task.
“The club then needed to reinstate nine players… from the 60-day IL, which was unavailable during the offseason,” Cotillo wrote. “That means there will probably be 41 players for 40 spots. Then the Red Sox will have to cut to fit everyone.
“There are a number of reserve options in the lineup who could be designated for this assignment, such as left-hander Jovani Morán and right-hander Josh Winckowski. Finally, with the addition of new players in the winter, the lineup positions for the likes of … David Hamilton and others could become tenuous.”
Hamilton, 28, is theoretically a reliable player in the lineup thanks to his 95th-percentile sprint speed. A year after stealing 33 bases in 37 attempts, he was down slightly to 22/38, but the much bigger concern was his offensive incompetence.
With a .198 batting average and a .257 base rate, Hamilton did not create enough resistance on the basepaths to be able to develop speed. His .307 OBP a year ago wasn’t stellar, but it was close enough to league average that he could gain some ground by going for the extra point.
Hamilton won’t be the first name dropped, but the number of players added by the Red Sox could eventually force him out. And it’s hard to imagine another team not wanting him on the bench, so perhaps there would be a trade in that case, perhaps with a squad that is in the process of rebuilding and has enough room on the 40-man roster.
