The Red Sox should make some roster moves Tuesday ahead of the 6 p.m. deadline to protect Rule 5 Draft eligible players.
Eligible players who are not selected to the 40-man roster today will be available to other MLB teams in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has one very interesting decision to make. Former All-Star and 2016 AL Rookie of the Year Michael Fulmer is Rule 5 eligible.
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Boston signed Fulmer to a two-year minor league contract in February. He was rehabbing from a UCL revision surgery on his right elbow and was expected to miss all of 2024, which he did. The Red Sox had 2025 in mind when they agreed to the contract. But do they still view him as a potential bullpen piece this coming season? That decision must be made by later today.
Fulmer is contracted to earn $1.5 million in 2025 if he’s on the 40-man roster. Incentives and performance bonuses max out at $2 million.
Boston’s 40-man roster is at 40 players right now. So they will need to open a spot for every player added to the roster today.
TOP CANDIDATES TO BE ADDED
Michael Fulmer, RHP: The 31-year-old righty last pitched in 2023 for the Cubs. He has a career 3.94 ERA in 262 outings (90 starts). He transitioned from the rotation to the bullpen in 2021. He has a 3.43 ERA in 172 career relief outings.
The Red Sox are looking to add both velo and swing-and-miss to their bullpen this offseason. Fulmer averaged 94.4 mph with his fastball in 58 outings in ‘23. He ranked in the 92nd percentile in whiff percentage (33.5%) and 78th percentile in strikeout percentage (27.4%).
Hunter Dobbins, RHP: The 25-year-old won 2024 Red Sox minor league Starting Pitcher of the Year after posting a 3.08 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and .237 batting average against in 25 starts for Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester.
His fastball sits 95-97 mph and has maxed out at 99 mph. He also has a newer splitter grip and the pitch plays like a splinker.
Dobbins not only provides starting pitching depth but also velo out of the pen if the Red Sox want to use him in that role.
Baseball America ranks him Boston’s No. 21 prospect.
Jhostynxon Garcia, OF: The 21-year-old outfielder enjoyed a breakout season in 2024. He batted .286 with a .356 on-base percentage, .536 slugging percentage, .892 OPS, 23 homers, 24 doubles, five triples, 66 RBIs, 78 runs, 17 steals, 33 walks and 99 strikeouts in 107 games (459 plate appearances) for Low-A Salem, High-A Greenville and Portland.
Garcia also is a potential trade chip this offseason. But if the Red Sox don’t add him to the 40-man roster Tuesday, he can’t be traded until after the Rule 5 Draft.
Baseball America ranks him Boston’s No. 18 prospect.
OTHER ELIGIBLE PLAYERS TO WATCH
Yordanny Monegro, RHP: The righty, who just turned 22 in October, posted a 2.84 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and .182 batting average against in 18 outings (17 starts) for the FCL Red Sox and Greenville in 2024. Fifteen of those outings were with Greenville where he averaged 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
He has a four-pitch mix and BA ranks him Boston’s No. 27 prospect.
He has a lot of upside. The big question: Would the Red Sox feel comfortable leaving him unprotected because he has yet to pitch above High A? A player drafted in the Rule 5 Draft must remain on his new team’s active roster (barring an IL stint) for the entire next season. Could a team afford to carry Mongero for an entire season with still a good amount of development remaining?
Angel Bastardo, RHP: The 22-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 when his fastball reached 97 mph. But he started just 10 games for Portland in 2024 before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery.
He’s unlikely to pitch in 2025. If he does, it won’t be until late in the second half. He would have been someone the Red Sox would have considered if he had been healthy.
Blaze Jordan, 1B/3B: There was a great deal of hype surrounding this power-hitting corner infielder after Boston drafted him in the third round in 2020, then gave him a $1.75 million bonus.
He has been able to keep his strikeout percentage low for such a young power hitter but the 21-year-old’s bat speed has been a concern as he has advanced through the system. He batted just .261 with a .305 on-base percentage, .388 slugging percentage, .693 OPS, seven homers, 22 doubles, one triple, 61 RBIs, 35 runs, 18 walks and 46 strikeouts in 89 games (380 plate appearances) for Portland in 2024. He missed some time this past season when he got hit in the face with a 97 mph fastball.
The raw power is there and he’s still young; so other teams might have interest if Boston leaves him unprotected.
BA ranks Jordan Boston’s No. 22 prospect.
Allan Castro, OF: The Red Sox like the 21-year-old righty outfielder a lot. But he struggled after a promotion to Portland last year, batting just .180 (18-for-100).
The Red Sox could leave him unprotected with an idea that no team is likely to believe it would be able to carry Castro on its active roster for the entire 2025 season.
BA ranks Castro Boston’s No. 23 prospect.
Brendan Cellucci, LHP: The Red Sox left the 26-year-old unprotected last offseason and he went undrafted.
That said, Baseball America listed him last December as a candidate to be drafted, writing, “Cellucci’s cutter generates a 40% whiff rate and a 23% in-zone whiff rate. … The sinker performed particularly well on contact with a .260 wOBAcon this season. While Cellucci might not look like your typical reliever, his combination of two pitches that miss bats and a sinker that can mitigate hard contact could make him a viable option out of the bullpen for a major league team next season.”
Cellucci struggled to throw strikes in 2024 (6.8 walks per nine innings) and finished with a 4.18 ERA in 64 ⅔ innings between Portland and Worcester. He did hold opponents to just a .203 batting average and averaged 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
Perhaps the Red Sox will be impressed by some advanced metrics and protect him but it seems unlikely, especially after leaving him unprotected last offseason.
