After the surprisingly successful 2021 season, the Red Sox stumbled in 2022, finishing 78-84 and missing the postseason. Injuries were an issue as only five position players appeared in more than 100 games. There was a lot of player movement. Short-term players who made it onto cardboard included Eric Hosmer and Eduard Bazardo. John Schreiber appeared in the 2021 post which was posted before the 2024 season when he finally appeared in a Red Sox uniform on a card, so he will not appear here. Then there were the players below:
ABRAHAM ALMONTE
The definition of a journeyman, Almonte played for the Mariners, Padres, Indians, Royals, Diamondbacks, Padres again and Braves before appearing with the Red Sox. Then he played with the Mets the next season. He also never played more than 82 games in a season. Almonte has his contract purchased in July of 2022 from the Brewers (who he never actually played for). He made it into 15 games with the Red Sox and hit .257/.297/.400 with a homer, two doubles and two RBIs. He also stole a base. He played reasonably well for Worcester, hitting .291 with seven homers. He signed with the Mets the next season. He has not played in the Majors since.
YU CHANG
There was a time when Chang looked like a potential regular player. In 2021 with the Indians, he hit .228/.267/.426 with nine homers and 39 RBIs in 89 games. The next season he appeared in games with four teams: the Indians, Pirates, Rays and the Red Sox. Chang's strength was always his versatility as he appeared at every infield position, designated hitter and even pitcher. The Red Sox snagged him off of waivers from the Rays in September and he played in eleven games. He hit .150/.346/.250 with two doubles and an RBI. He played shortstop in every game for the Red Sox. Chang will also appear in the 2023 post, so that is all I will say for now.
TYLER DANISH
Danish had kind of an odd career. A second-round draft pick of the White Sox in 2013 out of high school, he made his Major League debut at just 21 years of age in 2016. He bounced back and forth between the Majors and Minors for the next three seasons with the White Sox, pitching seven games in 2018. Then, he moved around a lot, appearing in the systems of the Angels and Mariners before finally making it back to the Majors in 2022 with the Red Sox. Danish appeared in 32 games with the Red Sox as a middle reliever. He threw 40.1 innings with a 5.13 ERA and a record of 3-1. He struck out 32 and walked 12. That was the last time Danish appeared in the Majors, but he did some more moving around, going to the Yankees, Nationals and Rockies organizations. He has not appeared in a game in 2025, but is just 30 years old. Danish does have a minor league card in the Red Sox organization.
AUSTIN DAVIS
This is Davis's second appearance in one of these posts. He was acquired in a mid-season deal in 2021 in which Boston gave up former first-round pick Michael Chavis to the Pirates. Davis was a weapon down the stretch in 2021. He was not as good in 2022 though. The southpaw appeared in 50 games for the Red Sox, throwing 54.1 innings, but his ERA ballooned to 5.47. He did notch 61 strikeouts, but also gave up 29 walks. His struggles increased as the season went on and he was waived at the end of August. He caught on with the Twins and made it into two more games. Davis did not appear again in the Majors until pitching seven games with the Padres in 2024, and that has been it to date.
JAYLIN DAVIS
Davis was a 24th-round pick by the Twins in 2015, but didn't make his Major League debut until 2019 with the Giants. He was part of the trade for the Twins to acquire Sam Dyson in 2019. Davis made it to the Majors for a handful of games in each of the next two seasons after 2019 with the Giants. He was placed on waivers in April of 2022 and the Red Sox snagged him. He spent most of the season in the minors, but made the most of his opportunity when he was in the Majors. Davis played in 12 games with Boston and hit .333/.407/.375. He had eight hits, four runs scored, a double and two RBIs. His numbers in the minors were not as impressive. Davis hooked on with the Mets organization in 2023, but never appeared in the Majors again. Davis does have a minor league card in the Red Sox organization in 2022.
JAKE DIEKMAN
The Nebraska-born southpaw Diekman had the longest career out of any of the players in this post, spanning 13 years and nine teams. He also pitched for the Phillies, Rangers, Diamondbacks, Royals and Athletics prior to 2022 with the Red Sox and has since pitched for the White Sox, Rays and Mets. Diekman was once a part of the deal that sent Cole Hamels to the Rangers. Diekman signed as a free agent with the Red Sox during Spring Training. He had a fast start, striking out Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Joey Gallo to save a one-run game against the Yankees early in the season. Unfortunately, that success did not continue the entire season. Diekman appeared in 44 games with a 5-1 record, throwing 38.1 innings with a 4.23 ERA. He struck out 51, but walked 30 and picked up a save (the one I mentioned against the Yankees). Diekman was traded to the White Sox on August 1 in the deal that brought Reese McGuire to Boston. He has not appeared in a game in 2025 after being released by the Braves in Spring Training.
JEURYS FAMILIA
Probably the biggest "star" in this post is Familia, who is the only player in this post who has ever been named to an All Star team. Familia was an All Star in 2016 with the Mets when he led the league with 51 saves and had a 2.55 ERA. Familia had been a terrific closer with the Mets, saving 124 games with them, primarily between 2015 and 2016. After he lost the closer role, he was sent to the A's to finish out the 2018 season then returned to the Mets in 2019. He started the 2022 season with the Phillies, but had a 6.09 ERA and was released in August. Boston took a flyer on him, but he did not improve in his ten games with them, going 1-2 with a 6.10 ERA in 10.1 innings, striking out eight and walking seven. He pitched for the A's again in 2023, but has not appeared in the Majors since.
MICHAEL FELIZ
Like Austin Davis, Feliz is in his second appearance in one of these posts. Feliz appeared in four games during the 2021 season, before finishing the season with the A's. After the season, the Red Sox re-signed him and he started the 2022 season in the Red Sox organization. He made it into one game with the Red Sox, throwing 3.1 innings with one earned run (2.70 ERA). He struck out four and walked two. He was released in a roster crunch afterwards and appeared in the Twins and Yankees organizations, but never made it back to the Majors. Feliz pitched for eight years in the Majors for the Pirates, Astros, Red Sox, A's and Reds. Feliz does have a minor league card in the Red Sox organization.
ZACK KELLY
Kelly is the most likely possibility in this post to join Rich Hill and John Schreiber as players to eventually get cards with the Red Sox after appearing in one of these posts. This is due to the fact that Kelly is actually still active with the Red Sox and in his fourth season with Boston. 2022 was his debut season and he pitched in just 13 games. Kelly started his professional career after being signed as an undrafted free agent with the Athletics, then moved on to the Angels before being signed as a minor league free agent by the Red Sox before the 2021 season. As such, he was 27 when he made his debut. He threw 13.2 innings, striking out 11 and walking four and had a 1-0 record with a 3.95 ERA. Kelly has often had trouble finishing batters off and limiting hard contact and that has made it difficult for him to stay on the Major League roster. He will be talked about more, barring Topps finally making a card of him. He does have minor league cards in the Red Sox system.
KALEB ORT
The righty Ort is another player who is in one of these posts for the second time. 2022 is a more egregious miss for him though. He appeared in just one game in 2021, in 2022 he appeared in 25. Ort was originally an undrafted free agent by the Diamondbacks in 2016, then moved to the Yankees organization. The Red Sox selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft (I have no idea what the rules are for that phase) prior to the 2021 season. In 2022, he had a record of 1-2 with an ugly 6.35 ERA. He threw 28.1 innings, striking out 27 and walking 15. He notched the only save of his Red Sox tenure when he finished off a game against Baltimore. Ort will be talked about again, though it is worth mentioning that he had a successful 2024 season with Houston and is still with the Astros today. Ort does have minor league cards in the Red Sox organization.
HANSEL ROBLES
Yet another player who appeared in the 2021 post is Robles, who was one of Boston's better mid-season trades during the 2021 season. The Red Sox traded for Robles at the 2021 trading deadline, sending minor leaguer Alex Scherff to the Twins. Robles had been a closer at times with the Angels and Twins and had been a serviceable middle reliever with the Mets previously. His inconsistency has largely been his downfall throughout his career and led to him moving in and out of the closer role for the Red Sox in 2021. 2022 was mostly just bad for him though. He came into the season as a setup man/closer option, but struggled. He appeared in 26 games, throwing 24.2 innings with a 5.84 ERA. He struck out 21, but walked 14. The Red Sox released him in July. Robles has not appeared in a Major League game since, though he has been in the Dodgers and Mariners systems.
YOLMER SANCHEZ
Once a regular second-baseman with the White Sox, Sanchez had fallen on some hard times by the time he appeared in a Red Sox uniform. A slick fielder, he won a Gold Glove in 2019 and could once hit enough to justify his place on the diamond. He led the league in triples in 2018 and had a line of .245/.300/.360 in parts of seven seasons with the White Sox, four of which were as a regular. He had occasional pop and could steal the occasional bag too. He started having injury issues that limited him in 2020, then spent the entire 2021 season in the Braves minor league system. The Red Sox signed him as a free agent prior to the 2022 season and he spent most of his time in their minor league system. He did make it into 14 games though, hitting an anemic .108/.214/.108 with four hits, a run, two RBIs and was caught stealing both times he attempted. He played exclusively second base, other than one appearance as a pitcher, his second time doing that. Sanchez pitched the final inning of an ugly 28-5 loss to the Blue Jays and gave up a run and three hits for a 9.00 ERA. He was waived in August and played a few games for the Mets. He has not been in the Majors since. He does have a minor league card in the Red Sox system.
PHILLIPS VALDEZ
We close on a player who is on his third appearance in one of these posts. Valdez looked like a promising pitcher during the 2020 season when he had a 3.24 ERA in 30.1 innings over 24 games after the Red Sox grabbed him off waivers from the Mariners. He slipped in 2021, raising his ERA to 5.85, but still pitched in 28 games. He spent time in the minors with the Red Sox organization for the first part of 2022, though he did pitch in 13 games in Boston. He had an unimpressive stint, going 0-1 with a 4.41 ERA in 16.1 innings pitched, striking out 13 and walking seven. He was waived in July and caught on with the Mariners organization. He has not appeared again in the Majors since.
As usual with these posts, there are a lot of relievers, though there were a handful of position players. A former All Star (Jeurys Familia) and a former Gold Glove winner (Yolmer Sanchez) appear to make things kind of interesting. Several of these guys had somewhat lengthy careers. Jaylin Davis probably had the best numbers for the Red Sox, but the player I would have most wanted to see get a card is undoubtedly Jake Diekman. There are very few Nebraska natives in the Major Leagues, much less ones that play for the Red Sox, so I would like to add them when I can. For some reason a lot of the Nebraska players who play for the Red Sox never get cards with them (Buddy Hunter and Kip Gross are a couple of examples). So yes, Diekman it is.
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