CLEVELAND -- The Red Sox finalized their 25-man roster for the Division Series Thursday, with two particularly tough calls to make -- the backup catcher and the 11th man on the pitching staff.
Ultimately, those spots went to, respectively, Christian Vazquez and Joe Kelly.
"I think the final games with Vasky behind the plate,'' explained John Farrell, "and the recent defensive attributes he's shown, particularly with [the Indians] and how much they look to use the running game to their advantage [was a big factor]. Just fundamental, objective player evaluation -- here's our best defensive catcher.
"The offense of all three [candidates, including Ryan Hanigan and Bryan Holaday] is comparable. So Vasky's the guy.''
Asked if Vazquez might get the starting assignment in Game 4 to pair with Eduardo Rodriguez, Farrell certainly kept the door open to that possibility.
"I know there's a lot of comfort with Eddie,'' said Farrell, "so quite possibly. We know that they worked well together the last few times.''
As for Kelly getting the nod over Heath Hembree or Junichi Tazawa, the Sox liked Kelly's ability to get out both lefties and righties. Hembree was extremely tough on right-handed hitters, but the Indians' lineup is full of lefties and switch-hitters.
"That was part of my conversation with Heath,'' said Farrell. "He's done a good job for us. But their lineup heavily factored in.''
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This series will mark the postseason debut for a number of young players, including Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr.
"This is the next step and hopefully the progression of a core group that's going to win a lot of games going forward,'' said Farrell. "I liken it to the year [2007] that [Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury] came up. They've got guys around them that they can lean on, that they can have conversations.
"The game is still the same; it's everything around it that might be a potential noise for them. But as long as they anticipate the situation, the game is still the same. And if they anticipate, they'll make the right decisions and that's what it boils down to.''
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Marco Hernandez made the roster, primarily for his ability to pinch-run for either the starting catcher or David Ortiz.
"He's the best one we have,'' said Farrell. "I can't say that it's a flat-out basestealer. But given the guys available to us, [he was the best choice]."
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A number of players not on the roster will remain in uniform and in the dugout during games -- Hembree, Tazawa, Fernando Abad, Hanigan and Holaday.