Leandre: Predicting Opening Day roster for Boston Red Sox, Take I
Two weeks until Opening Day in Arlington, Tex., here's what I think the Opening Day roster will look like.
This season promises to be more fun than the previous few for the Boston Red Sox. For the first time since the winters leading up to the 2018 season, the team made a flurry of splashy acquisitions to construct what appears to be a postseason-caliber roster.
That said, the roster appears destined for incompletion when it debuts in Texas on March 27. Right-handed starters Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello likely both start the season on the Injured List (IL), with outfielder Wilyer Abreu potentially joining them as he returns from a gastrointestinal virus.
For the most part otherwise, there won’t be any surprises as to who cracks the Opening Day roster. However, there are a few spots up for grabs in Spring Training that are heating up with each passing day.
With that in mind, here’s my first edition of what I think the Opening Day roster for the Red Sox will look like.
Catchers (2)
Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong
No surprise here, as the organization gave Wong a vote of confidence this winter when it traded top catching prospect Kyle Teel to the Chicago White Sox and replaced him with the now former Yankees catching prospect, Narvaez.
Wong looks visibly stronger this spring and even flashed some power in his debut game with a solo home run against the Minnesota Twins.
The main thing for him is his defense, which is hard to gauge in such a small sample size. However, his stance definitely looks different, and he’s shown some promise in sticking strikes at the bottom of the zone.
As for Narvaez, he’s flashed a strong and accurate arm behind the dish. While he’s struck out at a 45% clip through 15 plate appearances, his defense has looked considerably better than Blake Sabol’s. Given the latter has two options left, the Red Sox don’t have to make a difficult decision and risk of losing him.
Infielders (5)
Alex Bregman, Triston Casas, Rafael Devers, David Hamilton and Trevor Story
There’s a potentially surprise-omission here without top infield prospect Kristian Campbell breaking camp but hear me out here.
As encouraging as his recent string of plate appearances look, I don’t think he’s done enough to justify being added to the 40-man roster since he’s not already on it. He will make an impact at the MLB level this season, and probably not too long after the season opener, but I doubt the Red Sox want to designate someone else for assignment for a player who has not experienced MLB action just yet.
The other five are not shocking, as four of them will likely make out the starting infield so long as they’re healthy.
Outfielders (4)
Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder
The lone surprise here is Abreu who, as mentioned, hasn’t played in a game this spring yet.
That said, until it comes out that he won’t be ready for Opening Day, I will assume there’s a decent chance he’s ready. Especially because he struggled mightily to open last season, but his glove warranted his everyday status.
I still view Abreu as the kind of defender you keep in the lineup even if he’s struggling at the plate and if you think Rafaela’s strides offensively are real, you should feel pretty good about letting Abreu prepare in-game.
Utility and Designated Hitter (2)
Nick Sogard and Masataka Yoshida
I entered camp pretty curious about how the Red Sox will deploy their super-utility role in 2025 while striking a balance with having guys consistently play the same spot every day.
The lone candidate I considered on the 40-man roster was Romy Gonzalez, but Sogard has dominated in camp to the point where he’s no longer leapt into the conversation but usurped Gonzalez in my eyes.
Through 31 plate appearances, he’s slashing .346/.452/.654 with two home runs and 10 runs scored. But what caught my eye that told me Sogard was of real consideration was his consistent playing time at first base.
Gonzalez has been fine, so this is more about Sogard beating him than Gonzalez losing his job.
As for Yoshida, the Red Sox are adamant that he’s going to play left field this season at times. However, he hasn’t yet, nor do I think they need to make him play that position more than maybe 20-to-25 times in 2025. I view him as the team’s DH on Opening Day and will continue to be so.
Sorry to the fans who want the team to rip the band-aid off with Devers.
Starters (5)
Walker Buehler, Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, Richard Fitts and Tanner Houck
As mentioned, Bello and Crawford will both likely open the season on the IL, thus creating a competition for the rotation’s fifth slot.
Vying for that rotation slot is Fitts, Cooper Criswell and Quinn Priester.
Fitts has been super impressive in camp. While he first start featured some issues finding the zone consistently, he’s flashed velocity in the high-90s with wipeout breakers. He even had a two-inning relief outing where he generated more whiffs than he did in his best start in MLB last season.
Priester has been fine, and I actually expect more out of him this season than Fitts, but the former Yankee definitely has a leg-up as of now.
Criswell was awesome in 2024, especially relative to expectations, but his stuff just isn’t impressive enough to me for to view him as a starter in this rotation.
Note: While writing this, Giolito exited his spring debut with hamstring tightness. He believes it’s a minor tweak, but if he’s unable to go then Fitts and Priester would be in the rotation for me.
Relievers (8)
Aroldis Chapman, Luis Guerrero, Liam Hendriks, Zack Kelly, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, Justin Wilson and Garrett Whitlock
This bullpen is weird for many reasons.
For starters, it’s loaded with talent. However, there’s next to zero confidence in this group due to a myriad of reasons.
That said, I think the org abandons the “Human Victory Cigar/White Flag” reliever and just has eight guys who can give you somewhere from three to eight outs. I think Kelly would be the perfect bulk reliever, even advocated for them to stretch him out as a starter (they didn’t agree).
None of Adam Ottavino, Austin Adams or Matt Moore make the cut for me as non-roster invitees.
Nelly Taylor is not taking anything for granted as his stock continues to rise
Over the next few weeks, the best prospects in baseball will take center stage with the Spring Breakout games. For the Red Sox fans, that means they will see Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell, Franklin Arias, and Yoeilin Cespedes against other top prospects in the game. They will also get to watch Nelly Taylor,…
Abreu, Devers & Yoshida all might start the season on the IL. That would give them all a couple of weeks of At Bats at Triple A to get themselves right physically & get their timing down. That would put Trace Thompson, Abraham Toro & possibly Nate Eaton on the plane to Texas. No need for Sogard to be on that plane yet. I'd like him to play everyday in Worcester, but he still might be headed to Texas, too. Great article 👍
I think you're missing the boat completely in the bullpen. Chapman, Hendriks, Slaten, & Whitlock are locks; health permitting. Austin Adams, Ottavino, Matt Moore, & Michael Fulmer are wildcards b/c they are all proven at MLB level but don't have any options remaining. Justin Wilson was paid as if he's guaranteed a spot, but hasn't pitched as such yet. Guerrero appears to have the inside track on a spot as does Weissert, but they both have options remaining. The vets do not. Kelly, Bernardino, & Criswell also have options remaining . I believe Ottavino, Adams, Moore & Fulmer are all on their way to Texas to begin the season. Then, as injuries and/or poor performance shows up, those spots are filled in w/Guerrero, Kelly, Weissert, Criswell, Winckowsi, et al. Just another point of view. It is interesting to speculate, isn't it?