The Boston Red Sox’s depth will be one of their biggest assets in the coming season. The club can put it to its best use by summoning players up and down from the minor leagues when necessary.
But not every player can move between the minor leagues and the big leagues with no consequence. When a player is added to the 40-man roster for the first time, their contract is selected and a minor league option must be used to send them back down to Triple-A without subjecting them to waivers, where they could be claimed by another team. Most players have three options on their contract, and some players’ options get used faster than others.
The Red Sox are a young team and many of their players have just a few years of big league experience, and at least some of their minor league options are still available. This affords manager Alex Cora flexibility when building lineups — he can test multiple depth players at different positions without fear of subjecting them to waivers.
Red Sox players with minor-league options on 40-man roster for 2025
| Player | Position | Number of options |
|---|---|---|
| Jarren Duran | OF | 2 |
| Triston Casas | INF | 3 |
| Masataka Yoshida | OF/DH | 3 |
| Ceddanne Rafaela | INF/OF | 2 |
| Connor Wong | C | 1 |
| Carlos Narváez | C | 2 |
| Romy González | INF/OF | 2 |
| David Hamilton | INF | 2 |
| Nick Sogard | INF | 3 |
| Garrett Crochet | LHP | 3 |
| Tanner Houck | RHP | 2 |
| Quinn Priester | RHP | 1 |
| Justin Slaten | RHP | 3 |
| Garrett Whitlock | RHP | 3 |
| Greg Weissert | RHP | 1 |
| Brennan Bernardino | LHP | 1 |
| Wilyer Abreu | OF | 2 |
| Brayan Bello | RHP | 2 |
| Kutter Crawford | RHP | 2 |
| Chris Murphy | LHP | 2 |
| Patrick Sandoval | LHP | 1 |
| Blake Sabol | C | 2 |
| Vaughn Grissom | INF | 1 |
| Richard Fitts | RHP | 3 |
| Zach Penrod | LHP | 3 |
| Josh Winckowski | RHP | 1 |
| Cooper Criswell | RHP | 1 |
| Hunter Dobbins | RHP | 3 |
| Luis Guerrero | RHP | 3 |
| Zack Kelly | RHP | 2 |
The Red Sox are a rather young team, and many of their 40-man fixtures have multiple minor league options remaining. Jarren Duran, Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida, among many others, may never have their options used.
Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Quinn Priester, Nick Sogard and many other depth options may be shuffled between the minor leagues and the big league roster all year in case of injuries or other instances when the Sox may need a change in the field or pitching staff.
If Criswell, Priester, Josh Winckowski, Greg Weissert and Brennan Bernardino make the 40-man roster and are optioned to Triple-A at any point this year, their final option will be used up. Next season, they’ll have to stick on the 40-man roster all season to avoid being placed on waivers. Connor Wong also has just one option left, but he’s expected to be Boston’s starting catcher this year, so it’s unlikely he’ll be sent to Worcester this year.
Red Sox players without minor-league options on 40-man roster for 2025
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Rafael Devers | INF/DH |
| Alex Bregman | INF |
| Trevor Story | INF |
| Rob Refsnyder | OF |
| Walker Buehler | RHP |
| Lucas Giolito | RHP |
| Liam Hendriks | RHP |
| Aroldis Chapman | LHP |
| Justin Wilson | LHP |
Players without minor league options must remain on the 40-man roster or injured list and cannot be removed from the roster without going through waivers. All of the Sox’s players without options seem destined for the Opening Day roster (or will be added when they recover from injuries, in Giolito’s case), barring any catastrophic dips in performance.
