In preparation for the Rule 5 draft in two weeks time, the Red Sox Tuesday night performed some pruning on their 40-man roster, adding -- and protecting -- six players while designating for assignment five others.
Added to the roster were: pitchers Allen Webster, Alex Wilson and Steven Wright; catchers Dan Butler and Christian Vazquez; and outfielder Alex Hassan.
Meanwhile, five others were designated for assignment, giving the Red Sox 10 days to trade, waive or release them. They were: pitchers Sandy Rosario, Zach Stewart and David Carpenter; and infielders Danny Valencia and Ivan DeJesus.
The players added would have otherwise been exposed to the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 6 at the winter meetings in Nashville. Essentially, teams must protect former high school picks who have been with an organization for five years or college players who have been with an organization for four years -- or risk losing them in the Rule 5 Draft.
Players selected -- at a cost of 50,000 -- must then remain on the drafting team's 25-man roster for entirety of the following season or be offered back to the original team at the cost of 25,000.
Webster was one of the key players obtained in the Sox' massive August trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and is one of the handful of best pitching prospects in the organization. Wilson, who was converted from starter to reliever in 2011, pitched well in Pawtucket last season and will be given a chance to win a bullpen spot in the big leagues next spring.
Steven Wright, a knuckleballer obtained last July 31 in a deal that sent Lars Anderson to Cleveland, is believed to have some promise.
Boston Red Sox
The two catchers, Butler and Vazquez, are both raw. Butler reached Triple A last summer, but is already 26. Vazquez, who played in the Arizona Fall League this year, has yet to play above Double A. Both are both sound defensively and are improving. The Sox now have five catchers on the 40-man roster.
Hassan, a native of Milton, Mass., showed good on-base ability while with Pawtucket last year.
Among the notables left unprotected by the Sox and who could be snapped up in the Rule 5 draft: outfielder Jeremy Hazelbaker and reliever Josh Fields, who was part of the three-team deal that brought the Sox Erik Bedard at the deadline in 2011.
Three of the five players designated were obtained in trades last year.
Stewart was sent to the Red Sox in the June deal that saw Kevin Youkilis dealt to the Chicago White Sox. Stewart pitched fairly well at Pawtucket, but was roughed up badly in two late-season starts for Boston.
DeJesus was part of the August blockbuster deal with the Dodgers. He was promoted in September and saw limited action. He's a capable utility infielder, but the Sox believe that Pedro Ciriaco can handle that role.
Finally, Carpenter came to the Sox last month when the team signed John Farrell as its new manager, then sent infielder Mike Aviles to the Toronto Blue Jays as compensation.
MLB rules stipulate that a player must be offered in return, and the Sox landed Stewart, though obviously, he never played for them.