Drive Announces 2024 Opening Day Roster

The Greenville Drive, along with the Boston Red Sox, announced their 2024 Opening Day roster today, anchored by 19 players who helped the Drive capture the 2023 South Atlantic League Championship including five of Boston’s Top 30 Prospects.

“Celebrating the Championship all offseason and throughout Spring Training has left many of our guys hungry for more,” said Drive Manager Iggy Suarez. “We saw in Spring Training that this group is ready to get to work in Greenville and we can’t wait to flip the lights on at Fluor Field and get back to playing in front of the best fans in baseball.”

Suarez, now in his sixth season at the helm for the Drive, will guide a group highlighted by five of the Red Sox Top 30 Prospects including: Luis Perales (#11), Mikey Romero (#13), Allan Castro (#14), David Sandlin (#16), and Yordanny Monegro (#17). Romero and Monegro will both start the season on the injured list.

Drive pitching coach Bob Kipper guided a solid group of Drive pitchers in 2023, helping foster nine pitchers from the 2023 squad to AA Portland throughout the season. In 2024, he’ll start the year leading three players poised to be key pieces of the Drive’s starting rotation in Perales, Sandlin, and Monegro. Drive fans caught glimpses of Perales and Monegro’s prowess in the second half of the Drive’s 2023 campaign.

Highly regarded, Perales, rose quickly in prospect rankings and was added to the Red Sox’s 40-man roster in the offseason; keeping him in Boston’s farm system and protecting him from being selected by another Major League club in the Rule 5 Draft. Notably, Perales started eight games during the regular season racking up 44 strikeouts in 36.1 innings. He started game one of the SAL Championship Series, picking up a win while allowing just one hit in six innings of work.

Monegro also made a name for himself in the playoffs, starring in game two of the SAL Divisional Series, striking out seven in five innings of work as the Drive eliminated the Hickory Crawdads. Sandlin comes to Greenville highly regarded in his own right. The right-hander joined the Red Sox organization via trade, which sent pitcher John Schreiber to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Sandlin.

“This is an exciting group of talented players starting the year in Greenville,” said Drive General Manager Eric Jarinko. “Our fans are accustomed to high level baseball and this group is no exception.”

Backing up the Drive’s starters will be a loaded Drive infield and outfield complete with familiar faces from the team’s 2023 Championship season. Manning the infield, the Drive return Romero, Tyler Miller, Cutter Coffey and Karson Simas, while Ahbram Liendo and Luis Ravelo join the team for 2024.

Miller, the veteran of the group, appeared in 91 games for the Drive in 2023 amassing a .263 batting average, nine home runs and 19 stolen bases. Romero, the top prospect of the group, saw action in just three games in Greenville in 2023 before an injury shut down his season.

In the outfield, the Drive return Castro, Kristian Campbell, whose three-run homer in game two secured the Championship for the Drive, Bryan Gonzalez, Eduardo Lopez, and Miguel Ugueto. Juan Chacon and Caden Rose will join the outfield for 2024. Gonzalez spent all of 2023 with the Drive, finishing second on the team in total home runs with 11. Ugueto will return to the Drive after his 2023 season ended early due to injury.

Backstopping Drive pitching will be returners Ronald Rosario whose solo homer gave the Drive a lead for good in game two of the Championship series and Drew Ehrhard with newcomer Enderso Lira.

The Drive’s stable of pitchers at Kipper’s disposal will be returners Caleb Bolden, Juan Daniel Encarnacion, Gabriel Jackson, Nathan Landry, and Reidis Sena. The Drive will also receivetwo familiar faces in Jeremy Wu-Yelland and Tyler Uberstine who previously pitched for the Drive in 2021 and 2022 respectively before their season’s ended in injury. In his Drive debut in 2021, Wu-Yelland was a part of the Drive quartet of pitchers who combined for a No-Hitter at Fluor Field. Uberstine will start the year on the injured list.

Rounding out the bullpen are newcomers Cooper Adams, Bryce Bonnin, Jonathan Brand, Connelly Early, Cade Feeney, Hayden Mullins, and Connor Steinbaugh. Bonnin will start the year on the injured list.

Opening Day, presented by TD Bank at Fluor Field is slated for Tuesday, April 9 as the Drive takes on the Bowling Green Hot Rods, affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, at 7:05 p.m.