It's obvious that this is a baseball season like no other. No fans, 60 games, 30-man rosters and teams not playing two-thirds of the teams in their own league.
But some things don't change. Now that Opening Day is just a few days away, there are a few standbys, not the least of which is way too much speculation and attention paid to the final few spots on the roster.
It's a tradition as old as time itself, and this year -- at least in this regard -- is familiar.
Ron Roenicke acknowledged that the Red Sox have already determined most of the spots on the 30-man roster.
"Pretty much,'' he said. "There's still a couple of spots that we still haven't made up our mind 100 percent, But yeah, most of the team, it's pretty easy to see who's on it.''
Still, a few nagging questions remain:
- How many catchers? For much of Spring Training I and into Summer Camp, the assumption -- voiced by Roenicke himself -- was that the Red Sox would keep three catchers: starter Christian Vazquez, backup Kevin Plawekci and hybrid Jonathan Lucroy. But Roenicke seemed to distance himself from that some Monday afternoon. "I don't know if it's likely, but it's definitely been discussed, It's kind of ongoing. It's where those pieces fit the best. If it's three catchers, we're obviously not thinking about just catching the ballgames; we're thinking about the hitters, too. As we kind of did last year when (Vazquez) was really hot, he became a really good pinch-hitter for us on the days he wasn't catching. That has a lot to do with it. Lucroy, if he can get his offensive form back β he showed it in the first spring training and he showed it early in this camp. You've got two good pinch-hitters if Plawecki is catching. That's what we're looking at -- is how those pieces fit the best; not that we need three catchers in a 60-game season.'' Keep in mind that the Red Sox will be mandated to have a catcher with them as part of their traveling taxi squad, and at home, a third catcher will be just 50 miles away at McCoy Stadium, where the Sox can choose from among Jett Bandy, Juan Centeno and Connor Wong. Both Bandy and Centeno have major league experience, and it's possible that the Sox haven't been encouraged enough by what they've seen from Lucroy's bat. This one bears watching.
- Infield depth? Most of the spots here are spoken for. Regulars will include Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, Jose Peraza, Michael Chavis and Mitch Moreland. Tzu-Wei Lin is a plus defender at a number of positions and offers some speed off the bench, and if that weren't enough, he's also out of options, further making the case to keep him. Jonathan Arauz has impressed -- both in March and more recently -- and it would seem that he's done enough and offers enough potential for the Sox to at least start the year with him. He homered into the bullpen Saturday night and smoked another one Monday and, despite being 21 with little experience above Single A, hasn't looked the least bit overwhelmed. The wild card here is Yairo Munoz, who offers versatility and some pop. If the Sox go with only two catchers, Munos could be the beneficiary.
- Who supplies the innings? It would seem that the Sox have identified four starters -- Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez, Ryan Weber and Brian Johnson. Less certain is who will be utilized for the opener role and to provide multiple innings of relief. The list of candidates is lengthy, many of whom you've barely heard of: Chris Mazza, Matt Hall, Austin Brice, Jeffrey Springs and Kyle Hart. It's likely four of those guys make it and one won't. Frankly, beyond Hall, who's stood out some, none has really separated themselves from the pack. But, at least in the first few weeks, when Eduardo Rodriguez returns and pushes everyone else down a rung, the Red Sox will need volume from somewhere.