BOSTON -- The Red Sox plan to tender contracts to the 34 unsigned players on their big league roster ahead of Friday's 8 p.m. ET non-tender deadline. This means that veteran utility man Brock Holt will remain with the Red Sox and give them depth in the infield and outfield.
Any player who is non-tendered by the deadline for MLB teams to tender contracts to all unsigned arbitration-eligible players becomes a free agent.
Holt was the only Boston player who even seemed like a remote candidate to be non-tendered, and that's only because the Red Sox have a nice foundation of young depth at the utility infielder spot. But with Dustin Pedroia set to miss the first couple of months of the season following left knee surgery, Holt can help fill the void while the veteran second baseman is out.
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The 29-year-old Holt was slowed by concussion and vertigo issues the past two seasons, but was healthy down the stretch in 2017. After slashing .200/.305/.243 with no homers and seven RBIs in 140 at-bats this past season, Holt will try to resume being the player he was in 2014-15, when he put together a line of .280/.340/.380.

A lock to make the team the past couple of seasons, Holt will have plenty of internal competition come February from Marco Hernandez, Deven Marrero and Tzu-Wei Lin, three young players who provided nice depth at times last year.
Blake Swihart, once a top catching prospect, is out of options and will also be trying to earn a bench role as a corner-utility player in both the infield and outfield.

The Red Sox have a long list of arbitration-eligible players who will be tendered contracts by Friday. The 2018 season marks the first time star Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts is eligible for arbitration. The Red Sox control his contractual rights through the '20 season.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr., left-hander Thomas Pomeranz, right-hander Joe Kelly, right-hander Steven Wright and catcher Christian Vazquez are other key players eligible for arbitration.
The list also includes relievers Brandon Workman, Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith, along with catcher Sandy Leon.
The Red Sox have until March to finalize contracts with players who don't have enough service time for arbitration. Rafael Devers and Andrew Benintendi are Boston's two most prominent players who fall in that category. If the sides don't agree on a deal, the Red Sox can simply renew their contracts.