Weekly Notes: Rosters expand, Bogaerts receives national award

Here are this week's minor league notes:

• Just before we turned the page on the month of August last weekend, the Red Sox announced the addition of five players to the major league roster as part of September roster expansion. Three of the five, catcher Ryan Lavarnway, right-hander Rubby De La Rosa, and infielder Brandon Snyder, have spent the majority of the 2013 season in Pawtucket. Joining the trio in Boston were recently acquired hitters Quintin Berry and John McDonald, who was dealt for Salem pitcher Nefi Ogando on Saturday. 

• September also signals the end of the season which, for some outstanding achievers, means awards. Recently promoted shortstop Xander Bogaerts (pictured) was named USA Today Sports' Minor League Player of the Year, making him the first Red Sox minor leaguer to win the award since its inception in 1988. The 20-year-old Aruban, who was promoted to Boston on Aug. 19, produced an overall 2013 line of .297/.388/.477 with 23 doubles, 15 home runs, and 67 RBI.

• Right-handed pitcher Anthony Ranaudo, just days after being named an Eastern League All-Star, was awarded Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. The 23-year-old struck out 106 batters in 109 2/3 innings and posted a 2.95 ERA in 19 games for Portland before being promoted. 

• As a result of expansion, the Red Sox waived embattled reliever Daniel Bard, who spent the majority of 2013 in Double-A Portland. The 28-year-old right-hander was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

• Amidst the shuffle at the major league level, several players were promoted throughout the minor leagues. Headlining the moves was catcher Christian Vazquez, who was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket. The 23-year-old Puerto Rican spent the season with Portland, where he earned Eastern League All-Star honors. 

• Four players were added to the Lowell roster from the GCL Red Sox, while outfielder Aneury Tavarez will move from Greenville to Salem for the playoff run.

• Right-hander Matt Barnes, who was promoted to Pawtucket last week, has a strong Triple-A debut, striking out seven in five scoreless innings. The performance impressed PawSox manager Gary DiSarcina, writes SoxProspects.com's Kevin Pereira.

• After spending the year as a starter, right-hander Allen Webster worked an inning out of the bullpen this week, leading WEEI.com's Alex Speier to speculate on his potential impact with the big league club. 

• The Red Sox have quite a catch in Blake Swihart, writes David Driver of MassLive.com.

• Salem second baseman Mookie Betts (pictured) and Salem right-hander Luis Diaz are your SoxProspects.com player and pitcher of the month, respectively, for August. Diaz, who took home the award in July as well, posted a 0.85 ERA, 0.979 WHIP in five August starts split between Greenville and Salem. Betts, 20, posted a .383/.468/.598 line with six doubles, five home runs, and 12 stolen bases in 29 games with Salem. It was also announced this week that Betts will play in the Arizona Fall League.

• Portland outfielder J.C. Linares and Greenville Sergio Gomez right-hander were named SoxProspects.com's player and pitcher of the week, respectively.  In eight games, Linares had a monster .486/.500/1.000 line, going 17 for 35 with four home runs while Gomez hurled six shutout innings in both of his starts on the week.

Photo Credit: Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts by Kelly O'Connor. 

Luke Lavoie is a Staff Writer for SoxProspects.com. 

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