5 Boston Red Sox who won’t be on the roster by May 1

Who on the Boston Red Sox current roster won’t be there on May 1?

Major League Baseball allowed teams to have 28-man rosters going into the 2022 season. On May 1, the roster sizes must be reduced to 26 men. With injuries and Covid-19 still a concern it will be interesting to see how the Red Sox proceed.

The Red Sox have 15 pitchers on the active roster, plus James Paxton and Chris Sale who are both on the injured list. The remaining roster spots belong to the infield and outfield positions.

Players who are unvaccinated will not be able to travel with the team when they travel to Toronto to play the Blue Jays. Sale and Tanner Houck are known to be unvaccinated. While it is their choice to remain unvaccinated, they will be no good to the Sox as they are unable to travel with the team to Canada. Given Toronto is a division rival, this will be important to the club.

The Red Sox current rotation includes Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Houck, Michael Wacha, and Rich Hill. The bullpen is loaded with Matt Barnes, Garrett Whitlock, Hansel Robles, Ryan Brasier, Jake Diekman, Hirokazu Sawamura, Kutter Crawford, Austin Davis, Matt Strahm, and Phillips Valdez.

The large presence in the bullpen has no doubt helped the Red Sox get through the first month of the season after a shortened spring training leading to the season starting a week later than usual.

Alex Verdugo, Christian Arroyo, Kike Hernandez, Travis Shaw and Jonathan Arauz are the back up to regulars like Jackie Bradley Jr., Trevor Story, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogarts, Bobby Dalbec and J.D. Martinez. Once May arrives, this large presence may not be needed unless there is an injury concern or a break is needed.

It will be likely several players will be sent to the minor leagues so they may get some work in to remain fresh when they are needed later in the season.

Let’s take a look at five players who will not be on the roster once the sizes are reduced on May 1.