The Red Sox have outrighted infielders Jose Iglesias and Yairo Munoz, according to a team announcement. This now leaves their 40-man roster at 39, giving them the opportunity to potentially make an addition before Thursday’s ALDS kickoff. (Munoz had been on the COVID-19 related injured list since September 1st and thus wasn’t taking up a roster spot.)
Subtracting Iglesias from the roster isn’t terribly surprising, since he is unable to play for the club again this season anyhow on account of being signed after the August 31 deadline. Players joining an organization after that date are ineligible for postseason play with their new club. Iglesias was released by the Angels September 3 and signed with the Red Sox September 6. He is also heading into free agency after the postseason, making it a formality to cut him loose a bit early.
The club could now potentially add a player from their minor league system to the 40-man roster for postseason eligibility. Players in the organization but not on the 40-man roster before September 1 can still participate in the playoffs via a petition to the commissioner’s office, a fairly common maneuver throughout the league.
Another roster question hanging over the club is whether or not J.D. Martinez will be on it. The slugger hurt his ankle recently and was left off the roster for the wild-card game. As noted by Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Martinez took the field Wednesday and “tested his ankle at low intensity.” When Martinez was asked if he would play Thursday, he gave the noncommittal answer: “You’ll find out.” Of course, any player the Red Sox could potentially call up would pale in comparison to a healthy Martinez, who had yet another excellent season at the plate, hitting .286/.349/.518, for a wRC+ of 128.
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