Sam Travis Getting his Chance with Steve Pearce Injured

Opening Day of the MLB season starts tomorrow (excluding the Japan series). It is an exciting time of year for baseball fans. There are a lot of storylines going along with the 2019 season. How will Manny Machado / Bryce Harper do in their first season in new uniforms? Will the Athletics be able to repeat the success they had last year? Who comes out on top in the stacked National League East?

Those are just a few. But one of the more important questions comes to us from Boston, Massachusetts. Will the Boston Red Sox be able to repeat as World Series champions?

The Sox have as good of a chance as anyone. Chris Sale, David Price, Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, I can go on. But first base has become a spot of mystery.

Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce are both back in 2019, but it was announced yesterday that Pearce will be starting the year on the injured list. That means half of the Red Sox platoon will be gone. Enter Sam Travis.

Travis has been up and down with the Red Sox throughout the years, but he now has his first chance to start the year with the big club as Pearce is dealing with his calf issue. The right-hander is a solid hitter that has a .286 batting average over five minor league seasons. The biggest knock on the Red Sox prospect is his ability to hit for power. Ever since being drafted out of Indiana in 2014,  he has only hit 37 homers (476 games). That could change but it will be interesting to see if he can boost those power numbers with Pearce on the shelf for the time being.

– Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)