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Xander Bogaerts will take part in the Red Sox Rookie Development Program in January. (Billy Crowe/Greenville Drive)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After a one-year hiatus, the Red Sox will once again conduct their Rookie Development Program this coming January. The program helps to familiarize players who are likely to be considered for addition to the big league roster within a 12- to 18-month window with Boston, Fenway Park and team officials.

This year’s class of attendees will be fairly prospect-rich. Among those in attendance, according to a Red Sox team source, will be a number of players who were added to the 40-man roster in the past two years:

LHP Drake Britton

C Dan Butler

OF Alex Hassan

RHP Rubby De La Rosa

C Christian Vazquez

RHP Allen Webster

RHP Steven Wright

Additionally, the Sox will include some of their top prospects as non-roster invitees to the program, including:

SS Xander Bogaerts

OF Jackie Bradley Jr.

OF Bryce Brentz

LHP Chris Hernandez

That list is not necessarily a complete one, but it represents an interesting ensemble of young talent that is reaching the upper levels.

A couple additional minor league notes:

• The groin injury to right-hander Anthony Ranaudo in the Puerto Rican Winter League is not considered serious, but the idea of disrupting and then resuming his schedule (which had already been disrupted during the Puerto Rican schedule due to rain delays, among other things) didn’t seem to make sense given that he was likely only going to make a couple of additional starts. The Sox’ reports on the right-hander’s stuff were quite positive, as he flashed a 92-95 mph fastball with some good curveballs in his final starts. Though he had a 6.75 ERA in his four outings, Ranaudo dominated with two of those, and so his winter league schedule represented a better final note than the end of his Portland season, when he’d seen both bad results and diminished stuff.
• Ranaudo seems all but certain to open 2013 in the rotation of Double-A Portland. In sharp contrast to a year ago, when the Red Sox’ Triple-A rotation depth options were comprised almost solely of minor league free agents, the team will feature prospects who were either homegrown or acquired in trades. As things currently stand, De La Rosa, Webster, Hernandez, Wright and Stolmy Pimentel appear likely to represent the team’s rotation depth, with De La Rosa (by virtue of his prior big league experience) representing the sole member of the group with prior big league experience.
• With former PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler having been promoted to the big league staff as a first base coach, the Red Sox continue to search for a Triple-A manager. The team is considering both internal and external options.