The Greenville Drive, in conjunction with the Boston Red Sox, have announced the 2021 Opening Day roster. A mix of top prospects, depth, and 17 players who have previously spent time in Greenville make up this year’s roster as the Drive have been promoted to the Red Sox High-A affiliate.
“I am very excited about the roster to start the year, especially as the Drive makes the jump to the High-A East League,” noted Drive Manager, Iggy Suarez. “It’s been a long time since we’ve all had the opportunity to get out on the field and compete. This is a great group of young men, and I am really looking forward to seeing them play hard and have fun together. We know the fans at Fluor Field provide an atmosphere like no other ballpark in Minor League Baseball, and these guys will thrive off of that!”
In addition, 2021 will mark the second consecutive season in which a Major League Rehab Assignment will call Fluor Field home to begin the year. After slugging 28 home runs and knocking in 81 runs during the 2019 season with the Texas Rangers, infielder/outfield Danny Santana signed with the Red Sox in March of this year. Santana made his Major League debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2014, where he hit .319 with seven home runs, and led all rookies with 20 stolen bases.
With the expansion of rosters for the 2021 season, the Drive will feature 30 active players.
Making his return as the Drive’s pitching coach, Bob Kipper will guide 16 hurlers that includes 10 right-handers: Brayan Bello, Zach Bryant, Jose Espada, Yusniel Padron-Artilles, Alex Scherff, Chase Shugart, Dylan Spacke, Jake Thompson, Brian Van Belle, and Jake Wallace, as well as six southpaws: Rio Gomez, Jay Groome, Oddanier Mosqueda, Chris Murphy, Brendan Nail, and Yorvin Pantoja.
The staff features four pitchers currently ranked in the Red Sox Top 30 Prospects, according to MLB Pipeline – Groome (#7), Murphy (#17), Bello (#18), and Wallace (#28).
Hitting coach Nate Spears will lead a talented group of hitters that boasts seven players that spent the majority of the 2019 season in Greenville.
Catchers Kyle Cottam and Alan Marrero return to the Drive, and are joined by Elih Marrero.
2019 South Atlantic League All-Star Devlin Granberg also returns to Greenville, after ranking second (tied) on the club with 8 homers and 45 RBI. Rounding out the infield is Cam Cannon, Brandon Howlett, Christan Koss, Michael Osinski, Tyreque Reed, and Nick Sogard.
Howlett, also a returnee, was tied with Granberg with 8 homers in 2019. Reed, who was acquired in the Minor League phase of the Rule 5 Draft, belted 13 homers as a member of the Hickory Crawdads during the 2019 campaign, which ranked tied for 17th in the South Atlantic League.
Cannon is currently ranked as the #25 prospect in the Red Sox system, by MLB Pipeline.
Joining Santana in the outfield will be Luke Bandy, Cole Brannen, Tyler Dearden, and Tyler Esplin. Brannen, Dearden, and Esplin all return to Greenville after being with the club in 2019. Esplin ranked third on the team with 43 RBI and 52 runs scored, while Brannen ranked second with 24 stolen bases.
“The reveal of our Opening Day roster is always among our favorite days of the year, especially as we welcome the players and coaches back to Greenville for the first time in 20 months,” said Drive Owner and Team President Craig Brown. “With a mix of top Red Sox prospects and many familiar faces playing in Greenville this summer, we look forward to this talented team on the field and the support of the Upstate community combining for another successful year at Fluor Field.”
Opening Night presented by TD Bank is Tuesday night at Fluor Field at the West End. First pitch against the Bowling Green Hot Rods, affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, is slated for 7:05 PM.
For additional information and to purchase tickets, visit milb.com/greenville.
Prepared by the Greenville Drive.