Five roster battles remain for Red Sox

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- With less than a week left at Spring Training, the Red Sox still have several decisions to make regarding the roster.

Here is a closer look at the battles that remain.

The final infield spot

This is clearly a two-player battle and an interesting one at that: Yu Chang vs. Bobby Dalbec. Chang put on a show for Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic, winning the MVP of Pool A by going 7-for-16 with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs. At that point, Chang seemed to have the inside track on the utility spot. But then came his visa issues. Chang will at last arrive at Spring Training on Thursday morning. He hasn’t played since March 11.

“We’ll see where he’s at physically and how much he’s done. He told everybody that he’s been trying to get at-bats [in Taiwan],” manager Alex Cora said. “Hopefully when he gets here, we can just play him. That would be great.”

While Chang is more of a classic utility player, corner infielder Dalbec has added shortstop to his bag of tricks. Dalbec has more raw power than Chang, but struggled to find consistency at the plate the last two seasons.

The final outfield spot

Veteran Rob Refsnyder is set as the right-handed-hitting outfielder off the bench. The question is who will complement him from the left side.

This competition is between Raimel Tapia and Jarren Duran. Tapia, a non-roster invite, has 567 games of Major League experience under his belt and is used to coming off the bench. The Red Sox like what they’ve seen from the 29-year-old veteran. Then there is Duran, whose stock has taken a hit after being rated as one of the organization’s best prospects two years ago. Duran played well early in camp before he left to play for Team Mexico in the Classic. “Play” is a loose term though. Duran didn’t see much action in the international showcase, getting just five at-bats. Duran has Minor League options and Tapia does not.

“Obviously our roster is not as flexible as others,” said Cora. “There are a lot of guys with no options. We have to decide which is the best group we're going to take to Boston early on. And this is not about not having at-bats or having a lot of at-bats or being successful here [in Spring Training]. It's more about what fits and how we see the first few weeks of the season.”

Backup catcher

When Connor Wong suffered a Grade 1 strain of his left hamstring on March 2, his chances of breaking camp with the team seemed in jeopardy. However, he has gained momentum of late and will be a “full go” starting Thursday, when he plays in a Minor League game. Non-roster invite Jorge Alfaro has far more experience (478 games in the Majors) than Wong (33 games). However, Wong is more skilled defensively, something the Red Sox usually prioritize with their catchers. At the same time, Alfaro has worked hard to improve his defense with catching instructor Jason Varitek in recent weeks.

Final rotation spot

It should be noted that this is a temporary slot in the rotation, one that will be filled by Garrett Whitlock when he returns by mid-April. But the Red Sox need someone to fill the fifth spot early on, and Kutter Crawford likely has the inside track in his battle with Josh Winckowski. Both righties got acclimated to the Majors last season when the Sox went through a barrage of injuries to the rotation. Don’t be surprised if the loser of this battle makes the club as a long reliever.

Battle in the bullpen

The Sox are likely to go with eight relievers to start the season. Five spots belong to Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, John Schreiber, Ryan Brasier and Richard Bleier. Zack Kelly, who pitched well in his first taste of Major League life late last season, is a near lock. Add in Crawford or Winckowski and that leaves one available spot. The reason that spot is open is because lefty Joely Rodríguez has a Grade 2 right oblique strain that will have him on the injured list for the start of the season.

Will the Sox fill the spot with a second lefty behind Bleier? If so, they’d have to add a player currently not on the 40-man, with Ryan Sherriff serving as one candidate. If the Sox decide to take a righty, it will likely be either sidewinder Wyatt Mills or the hard-throwing Kaleb Ort.