What will the 2015 Red Sox look like?

Let me start this post by saying I think the 2013 version of the Sox can certainly contend. A few things break right with the pitching staff and I think the Sox will be right in the thick of the playoff hunt. That being said, the odds of the team taking home a championship this year are slim, so I'm gonna jump ahead two years and take a look at what I think the team will look like in 2015, when hopefully the team will be in better shape. I'm going to avoid the bullpen, because bullpens are too volatile year-to-year for any sort of prediction.

Catcher

Ryan Lavarnway is obviously the catcher of the future for the team and hopefully by 2015 he'll have established himself as an above-average Major League backstop.  Lavarnway's minor league numbers suggest he has a ceiling of being one of the top offensive catchers in the game, but he's yet to live up to the potential. Should anything go wrong, the team could look to re-sign Saltalamacchia this offseason, but he could command more money on the free agent market than the Sox are willing to spend.

First Base

First base may be the hardest of all positions to project. It's certainly possible Mike Napoli could still be in town, but I would think he would get the bulk of his playing time taking over the DH spot for Big Papi. I don't think the everyday first basemen for the 2015 Sox is on the team or in the system. I believe the team will try to acquire a big name bat to fill the hole, similar to the Adrian Gonzalez pickup of a few years ago, but hopefully with better long-term results.

Second Base

You gotta believe it's gonna be old Dusty Two-Sacks holding down the second base position in 2015. The team holds an $11 million dollar option, that would presumably get exercised, unless something goes terribly wrong. It seems like he's a lot older, but it'll only be the Muddy Chicken's age 31 season, so he should still be a few years from a significant decline in defense or offense. Hell the team, may even have him locked up to longer contract long before they ever have to exercise the option.

Shortstop

Top-prospect Xander Bogaerts is the odds on favorite to take over the shortstop role in the next few seasons. If things break right Bogaerts could be entering his second season with the big club and looking for a big sophomore year. It's possible he gets moved to third before 2015 though, in which case the team will probably still be plugging in stopgap players as they seemingly have been since Nomar left town or hoping prospect Deven Marrero is a keeper.

Third Base

Hopefully by '15 Will Middlebrooks will have established himself as solid above-average third basemen. His rookie campaign would certainly suggest he's heading in that direction, but questions about his on-base ability may hamper his stock before 2015. As mentioned earlier Xander Bogaerts also may have moved over to third by this point in his career, in which case the Sox may have to move on from Middlebrooks, whether he establishes himself as an outstanding trade chip or if he fades into a backup role.

Outfield

Jackie Bradley Jr., Jackie Bradley Jr., and Jackie Bradley, Jr. C'mon, he's awesome, he can play three positions at once right?  OK, maybe not, but hopefully by 2015 Bradley will have a year of patrolling center under his belt. Left and right could still be question marks though. Shane Victorino will still be under contract and could very well still be an effective player. If not he should be a solid, if overpaid, fourth outfielder. Another top prospect like Bryce Brentz could also be ready to take over an everyday role by then, provided he's not shooting himself in the leg on a regular basis. Outfield could also be another spot that the team looks to acquire a big bat either through free agency or a trade.

Designated Hitter

As I alluded to earlier, if Mike Napoli is still kicking around (which would presumably mean his health issues haven't caused too many problems) he'll probably see the bulk of his playing time at DH. If Napoli's long gone by 2015 though, it's anyone's guess what the team will do. Most teams nowadays like to use the DH to give position players a break from the field, so it's certainly possible that's the direction the Sox go.

Starting Pitching

Starting pitching could go a lot of ways for the Sox. On one hand they could still be looking at a staff anchored by Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and Felix Doubront. On the other hand the Sox could be looking at a staff filled with youngsters like top prospects Matt Barnes, Allen Webster, and Rubby De La Rosa. Buchholz will be set to make $12 million in 2015, so he seems like a safe bet to be kicking around the team still. Doubront will be in his first year of arbitration, so if he's continues to progress, he should have at least a bullpen slot. Lester however is only signed through 2014, so the future's anyone's guess with him. If he returns to his pre-2012 form, the team will hopefully have locked him up to a longer term deal, but there's no way of telling at this point. Which free agents or prospects will fill out the rotation is anyone's guess, but if I had to guess it'd be at least one of the three aforementioned prospects and a moderate-to-high priced free agent/trade acquisition.

Wacky Logos of the NL East

Whether it's a style from a bygone age or just a marketing scheme gone awry, baseball history is littered with odd logo choices. With the possible exception of recent expansion teams, almost every Major League ballclub has a bizarre logo or two hiding somewhere in their closets. I'm going to attempt to identify the weirdest logo from each franchise's history, dating back to the club's early history. Today I start with the National League East.

BRAVES

The Braves' laughing Indian head logo was a staple of the organization from the 1957 season in Milwaukee up until a 1990 redesign that emphasized the tomahawk logo. The Native American depicted in the logo is supposed to be screaming (presumably some sort of war chant), but appears to just be laughing hysterically. A recent attempt to revive the logo for an alternate batting practice hat was squashed by the team, after some criticism from Native American groups. The logo was dropped with good reason, not only is it a potentially insensitive caricature, it's also just plain weird looking. The logo looks more like a guy who belongs in Fishbone, than being the logo of a Major League Baseball franchise.

Marlins

Since the franchise dates back to just 1993, there were slim pickings when it came to the weirdest Marlins logo. Although the new logo is pretty weird, with it's oversized M and abstract Marlin, I decided to go with an alternate cap logo used from 1999 to 2002. What I find so strange about it was that the marlin wrapped around an F was the team's logo since inception, but they apparently felt they needed an alternate logo and went lazy by just swapping out the F for an M. They weren't even associated with Miami at the time, so it's apparently just a second reference in one logo to the team's nickname. Plus, I've always wondered in the marlin in the logo is supposed to be alive or stuffed, cause that is definitely a pose a taxidermist would give a dead fish.

Mets

What, you don't remember when the Mets moved to Mercury and changed their logo to some sort of pan-sexual gender sign? Well it happened for one night during baseball's ill-fated Turn Ahead the Clock promotion in 1999. For most teams the promotion meant sporting terrible uniforms such as these beauties, but for the Mets in meant a one night only complete rebranding. Everything about it is terrible. Mercury? Really the planet closest to the sun. I suppose it was used for alliteration purposes, but Mars would have at least made theoretical sense (colonies on Mars and such.) And why is there a picture of the moon? And the bizarre alien gender sign? So many questions. Too bad this horrible, horrible promotion only lasted one season.

Phillies

This Phillies logo used from 1970 through 1983 seems to be a scene from School House Rock, of two colonial-era children learning to play baseball. Presumably it's playing up Philadelphia's significance to the birth the U.S., but boy is it bizarre. Did any self-respecting adult in the Philadelphia area actually sport any merchandise with this logo? Was the Phillies management specifically targeting children who loved history? Are these kids time-travelers, hence their anachronistic playing of a game that had yet to be invented? 

Nationals/Expos

The Nationals/Expos franchise doesn't have much to work with, but I'm going with the traditional Expos logo, mostly because it confused the hell out of me as a kid. I seriously didn't realize for at least ten years that there was even an M in there. I always wondered what the hell "elb" stood for, but apparently it's an "e" for Expos, no "l' whatsoever, and a "b" for baseball. Twelve-year-old me would have been floored by this knowledge. In hindsight I think it's a pretty cool logo, but I think the brain trust behind the Expos may have gone a little two high concept. Although perhaps that was a calculated move to play up the whole World Expo thing.

Everybody Loves Jackie

We’re right in the thick of spring training now, which means it’s about that time of year where Red Sox Nation falls in love with a prospect. What’s not to love about a hot new prospect? They offer hope, a seemingly unlimited ceiling, and the chance to get in on the ground floor of the next superstar. Unfortunately the road to superstardom is littered with the corpses of thousands of failed prospects, while only a relatively minor amount ever even come close to fulfilling the hype.

This year’s sexy prospect for the Sox is center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr., who practically owns the 2014 starting center field position, even before former similarly hyped-up prospect Jacoby Ellsbury can even leave town. Bradley has everything you could want from a center fielder and leadoff hitter, youth, speed, defense, and great on base skills, but he still has only two years of professional ball under his belt, so Sox fans would be best advised to pump the brakes a bit on the hype train.

The Sox have maintained that they will not break camp with Bradley on the big league club, which is a wise move, despite the protests from some in the nation. He’s been playing wonderfully throughout spring training, but a little bit of Triple-A seasoning couldn’t hurt, and the inconsistent playing time he would receive with the Sox could slow his progression a bit. Unless Ellsbury goes down for a large portion of time, calling Bradley up before September would be unwise. Even counting him for 2014, while not a stretch, is still being optimistic.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Jackie as much as the next Sox fan, but I also know Boston fans can get carried away with young talent, even ones with more modest credentials than Bradley. Bradley, along with shortstop prospect Xander Boagaerts, certainly represent a bright future for the Sox, but I think this season will be best kept to the veterans, unless the Sox fall out of the playoff race and want to give the kids a few tire kicks. So table your Jackie Bradley, Jr. excitement a bit for right now, but dust it off if you ever get too down on the Sox, because the future is bright.

Check out my work over at the Boston Red Sox Blog. On today's menu: Mostly forgotten Wade Boggs replacement Scott Cooper.