Sea Dogs Roster Announced
Published on March 31, 2008 under Eastern League (EL1)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
Portland, Maine- The Boston Red Sox have announced the 2008 Opening Day roster for the Double-A affiliate Portland Sea Dogs. Highlighting the 2008 roster are Justin Masterson and Michael Bowden, two of Boston's top ten prospects according to Baseball America. The Sea Dogs open the season on Thursday, April 3rd against the New Britain Rock Cats (Twins) in New Britain, Connecticut. The home opener is set for Friday, April 11th at 6:00 PM against the Rock Cats.
Eastern League rosters consist of 24-man rosters for the entire season. The 2008 Sea Dogs roster includes 17 players who played for the Sea Dogs in 2007, a team that reached post-season play for the third straight season. Eight of Boston's top 30 prospects according to Baseball America will open the season in Portland; Justin Masterson # 4, Michael Bowden # 7, Kris Johnson # 13, Mark Wagner # 20, Aaron Bates # 21, Dustin Richardson # 22, Bubba Bell # 25, and Hunter Jones # 27.
The starting rotation will consist of Masterson, Bowden, Johnson, Richardson, and Chris Smith. Last season, Masterson joined the Sea Dogs in July from Single-A Lancaster and won his four games, earning him Eastern League Player of the Month honors for July. In 2007, Bowden, at the age of 20, was one of the youngest players at the Double-A level, where he posted an 8-6 record with a 4.28 ERA. Johnson and Richardson both will be receiving their first taste of Double-A baseball. Richardson began the 2007 season with Single-A Greenville and earned a promotion to Single-A Lancaster where he posted a perfect 4-0 record with a 2.74 ERA. Smith returns for his fifth season with the Sea Dogs, joining Charlie Zink and Bobby Rodgers as the only Sea Dogs to spend parts of five seasons with the organization. Smith has 24 career wins for the Sea Dogs, second all-time behind Michael Tejera's 31.
The bullpen remains virtually unchanged form the 2007 season featuring the return of Kyle Jackson, Mike James, Hunter Jones, Jose Vaquedano, and Beau Vaughan. Daniel Haigwood joins the bullpen after starting for the Sea Dogs in 2007. Chad Rhoades is the lone new face, Rhoades notched a 3-2 record with a California League best 16 saves for Single-A Lancaster in 2007. James notched 22 saves for the Sea Dogs.
The outfield is compromised of 2007 California League Rookie of the Year and MVP Bubba Bell, 2007 California League All-Star Zach Daeges, Sean Danielson, and Jay Johnson. Bell hit an organizational best .337 with 26 home runs and 105 RBI between Single-A Lancaster and Double-A Portland in 2007. Daeges hit .330 for the JetHawks with 21 home runs and led the California League with 113 RBI.
California League All-Star Aaron Bates will handle the duties at first base. Bates hit .306 with an organizational leading 28 home runs and 101 RBI between Single-A Lancaster and Double-A Portland. He became the first California League player to ever hit four home runs in one game when he accomplished the feat on May 19, 2007. Andrew Pinckney will handle the duties at the hot corner; Pinckney led the Sea Dogs in 2007 with 14 home runs. Other infielders include Tony Granadillo, Ryan Khoury, Jeff Natale, and 2007 Sea Dogs Citizen of the Year Iggy Suarez.
Mark Wagner and John Otness will handle the catching duties. Wagner is rated by Baseball America as the "Best Defensive Catcher" in the Red Sox organization. Wagner also hit .318 with 14 home runs and 82 RBI for the JetHawks in 2007.
The 2008 roster is a team filled with home grown talent, 17 of the 24 active players were originally signed by the Boston Red Sox. Only Sean Danielson, Tony Granadillo, and Daniel Haigwood were acquired from other organizations. Danielson was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals organization as the player to be named later in the Joel Pinero trade. Granadillo was selected from the Cardinals in the 2004 Rule 5 draft. Haigwood was acquired from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Sea Dogs' pitcher Scott Shoemaker.
Four players will start the season on the disabled list and will remain in Florida; pitchers Andrew Dobies, Matt Goodson, and Tommy Hottovy along with outfielder Jeff Corsaletti.
Arnie Beyeler returns for his second season as the manager of the Portland Sea Dogs. Last season Beyeler led the Sea Dogs to a 71-72 record and a third straight playoff appearance for the club. Mike Cather also returns as the teams' pitching coach. Dave Joppie joins the club as the hitting coach replacing Russ Morman who will serve as the hitting coach for Triple-A Pawtucket. Joppie spent the 2007 season as the hitting coach for Single-A Lancaster. Under Joppie the JetHawks led the California League in hitting (.297), home runs (217) and runs scored (1,081). Brad Pearson returns as the Sea Dogs' trainer. Tickets for Opening Day and all Sea Dogs home games are currently on sale and can be purchased over the phone at 207-879-9500 or online at www.seadogs.com. The Sea Dogs 15th season is presented by Northeast Delta Dental.
Player profiles and stats are available on www.seadogs.com .
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