Minor Notes: Rosters expand, minor league playoffs set to begin

Here are Tuesday's minor league notes:

• With rosters expanding on September 1, the Red Sox recalled Blake Swihart (pictured, right), Sam Travis, Austin Maddox, Tzu-Wei Lin, Deven Marrero, Hector Velazquez, and Roenis Elias from Pawtucket. They now have 35 players on the active roster.

• Elias is the only player to not appear in a game for Boston already this season, as he missed the first month of the season with an intercostal strain and then missed another two months with a rib injury. 

• As Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe noted, Swihart is open to playing new positions as Christian Vazquez and Sandy Leon are entrenched  as the starting catchers in Boston this year. 

• Chris and Ian returned for the 129th episode of the SoxProspects.com Podcast, focusing on the players the Red Sox will be sending to the Arizona Fall League, as well as offering some scouting notes on Portland and Lowell.

• Jeremy Barfield has been one of the top performers in the system this season, and he was rewarded with a late-season promotion to Pawtucket. Barfield went 5 for 11 with a home run and four walks in his short stint with the PawSox. 

• Another player having a strong season is Pedro Castellanos, and the Red Sox promoted him from the GCL to Greenville after the GCL season ended. The 19-year-old will help Greenville in their playoff run after hitting .339/.385/.457 in the GCL. 

• Cole Brannen, Everlouis Lozada, Juan Perez, and Kervin Suarez were also promoted from the GCL, joining the Spinners for the final days of their season. 

• Left-hander Brendan Nail was promoted to Greenville, and right-hander Daniel Gonzalez was sent down to the Drive from Salem. Nail, who signed for $125,000 as an undrafted free agent this year, struck out five and did not allow a run in his four innings for Lowell this season. 

• The Red Sox signed outfielder Justin Pacchioli to a minor league contract and assigned him to Salem. Pacchioli was playing for Somerset in the Atlantic League where the 24-year-old hit .281/.384/.328 in 299 at-bats with 35 steals while only being caught twice. He was drafted in the 10th round of the 2015 draft by the Padres, but he did not play at all in 2016 before resurfacing in the Atlantic League this season.

• After going on the disabled list at the end of July with a left intercostal strain, Ben Taylor was activated from the disabled list and optioned to Pawtucket. Taylor has a 5.19 ERA over 17 1/3 innings with Boston this year. 

• The Greenville Drive were recognized with two South Atlantic League awards, the Club Merit Award and the Excellence in Marketing Award. It was the third time the franchise has won the Club Merit Award, which is awarded to the team that is consistent in their commitment to operational excellence. The Drive earned the Excellence in Marketing Award for the fourth straight year.

Players of the Week 8/28-9/4

Jeremy Barfield, OF, Portland Sea Dogs/Pawtucket Red Sox
7 G, 27 AB, 11 H, 2 2B, 5 HR, 8 R, 9 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K

This is the second Player of the Week award for Barfield (pictured, right), who mashed across two levels last week. Barfield finished the season with an impressive .293/.368/.589 line over 355 at-bats with 28 home runs in only 95 games.

Kyle Kendrick, RHP, Pawtucket Red Sox
2 GS, 12.0 IP, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

It was a tough year for Kendrick, who was hit hard in his short stint with Boston and did not perform up to expectations with the PawSox. Kendrick did turn things around towards the end of the season, highlighted by his two scoreless outings last week. Kendrick pitched to a 2.31 ERA over his final 35 innings, walking only two while striking out 20. 

Photo Credit: Blake Swihart and Jeremy Barfield by Kelly O'Connor

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