Red Hot Red Sox Prospect Deemed 'Prime Candidate' To Make Debut In 2024

The utility man has put on a show in spring training thus far

Scott Neville | Mar 4, 2024

Red Hot Red Sox Prospect Deemed 'Prime Candidate' To Make Debut In 2024 /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are just a few weeks away from Opening Day and will begin to strip down their roster in the coming days until they eventually narrow the team down to 26 players.

While the vast majority of the decisions have already been made, manager Alex Cora has a few position battles underway -- namely in the rotation, bullpen, center field and the bench.

One player who is on the outside looking in at the moment appears to be on the right track to making his big league debut later this season.

"(Nick Sogard) will likely start the year in Triple-A, but he’s a prime candidate to be called up if there’s an injury," The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey wrote Monday. "Romy González is another utility man fighting for a spot."

Sogard has started spring training on the right track, making a name for himself on a bigger stage than he's accustomed to. He's hitting .417 (5-for-12) with four extra-base hits including a pair of home runs, six RBIs and a 1.550 OPS across seven games this spring.

The 26-year-old hit .266 with 31 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 47 RBIs and a .761 OPS in 112 games for Triple-A Worcester last season.

While his offensive production is noteworthy, his glove is what would clear a path to the majors. Sogard made 42 appearances at third base, 37 at second base, 21 at shortstop, 10 in right field and nine in left field in 2023.

Sogard will aim to climb a utility man depth chart that currently consists of Pablo Reyes, González and himself. Of the trio, Sogard is the only player not on the 40-man roster which will be a legitimate obstacle on his road to Boston.

Still, if he continues to hit and the Red Sox have a normal amount of injuries throughout a 162-game season, it will only be a matter of time before Sogard can find a spot on the big-league roster. He'll be a player to watch down in Worcester.

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Published Mar 4, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu