Our Choices For The 25-Man Sox Playoff Roster

The Red Sox will need to make some tough decisions before they take the field in ten days for the opening game of the 2013 ALDS. The current 36-man roster has to be cut down to 25. Here's how we would do it if we were in Ben Cherington's shoes—or we should  say in his sox.

OFFENSE: 14 PLAYERS
INFIELD (5). We would go with Will Middlebrooks at third, Stephen Drew at short, Dustin Pedroia at second and Mike Napoli at first. Our bench option would be Xander Bogaerts.  

OUTFIELD (6). Our outfield would be Jacoby Ellsbury (assuming, of course, he is healthy enough), Daniel Nava, Shane Victorino, Johnny Gomes, Mike Carp and Jackie Bradley Jr. Nava and Carp can fill in at first and Bradley is necessary in case Ellsbury breaks down. 

CATCHERS (2). Jarrod Saltalamacchia and David Ross.

DESIGNATED HITTER (1). David Ortiz. End of story.

PITCHERS: 11 PLAYERS
STARTERS (4). Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lackey, Jake Peavy.

RELIVERS (7).  Ryan Dempster, Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, Craig Breslow,  Felix Doubront, Brandon Workman, Franklin Morales.  Doubront can serve as an emergency starter or long man in case of: 1.) Buchholz or another starer getting hurt or 2.) a blowout loss. Workman has shown enough promise to make the cut. Morales is the only tough choice, since his lack of command often renders his great stuff dangerous. On the other hand, Matt Thornton has been underwhelming.

So, there you have it: our choices for the 2013 Red Sox post-season roster.