BOSTON -- When the Boston Red Sox opened the 2015 season, they had four players on the disabled list in addition to the 25-man Opening Day roster. Catcher Christian Vazquez and pitchers Koji Uehera, Joe Kelly and Edwin Escobar began the season on the DL.
Of those 29 players, 13 have been traded, released, are on the disabled list or have been shut down for the season. That’s 44.8 percent of the roster.
That doesn’t include Hanley Ramirez, whose afternoons are spent hitting tape-measure home runs in batting practice, but who hasn’t played in a game since Aug. 26 in Chicago, when he went 0-fo- 4. Tuesday night will be the 23d game the Red Sox have played since Ramirez was in the lineup, and while interim manager Torey Lovullo continues to say Ramirez is making “progress” at first base, there is no reason to expect to see him any time soon.
It has been exactly a month since Ramirez last played a game at home; he doubled in four trips against the Royals on Aug. 22. His last home run at Fenway Park came on July 11, just before the All-Star break; it’s 74 days and counting.
Here are the players who were on the Opening Day roster or on the disabled list, and are no longer playing with the Red Sox this season:
-- Mike Napoli traded
-- Daniel Nava traded
-- Shane Victorino traded
-- Justin Masterson released
-- Steven Wright, disabled list
-- Junichi Tazawa, shut down
-- Clay Buchholz, disabled list
-- Edward Mujica, traded
-- Anthony Varvaro, disabled list
-- Koji Uehara, disabled list
-- Joe Kelly, shut down
-- Edwin Escobar, minor leagues
-- Christian Vazquez, disabled list
To complete the picture of turnover, it should be noted that general manager Ben Cherington was replaced and manager John Farrell is undergoing treatment for cancer. Also, president and CEO Larry Lucchino will step down at the end of the year from those duties.
