Spring training is almost upon us. While the Patriots are — rightfully — dominating headlines in New England, the Red Sox are getting ready to go to Fort Myers. Truck Day is Monday (February 2), and the first scheduled workout for pitchers and catchers is next Tuesday (February 10).
Even after adding Sonny Gray , Ranger Suárez , Willson Contreras and Johan Oviedo and losing Alex Bregman and others, the Red Sox have a roster that looks quite incomplete at this point. Their infield, outside of Contreras at first base and Trevor Story at shortstop, is rather unsettled. Further moves are not just possible, but likely. Still, we're at the point where it makes sense to take a (very) early stab at the 26-man group the Red Sox will take to Cincinnati for Opening Day on March 26.
Here's our first crack at an Opening Day roster projection, including potential trades and free agent signings. Remember, this isn't hard-core reporting, but a guess:
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STARTING ROTATION: (5):LHP Garrett Crochet , LHP Ranger Suárez, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Brayan Bello , RHP Johan Oviedo
WHICH MEANS... Connelly Early and Payton Tolle start the year at Triple-A, Kutter Crawford moves to the bullpen as a stay-ready/long relief option and Patrick Sandoval is traded in an effort to move money.
ANALYSIS: The Red Sox have a ridiculous amount of starting pitching depth after a revamp that included the additions of Suárez, Gray and Oviedo. It's safe to say the Red Sox will look to have those three, along with their returning ace, Crochet, and their 2024 Opening Day starter, Bello, in the mix, assuming everyone is healthy. This is the safe bet to be the starting five in late March.
Of course, things rarely work out that way and injuries happen. Luckily, the Red Sox are very well-insulated in case something does happen. Crawford and Sandoval should be ready for Opening Day after each missing all of 2025 and are capable big league starters. Early and Tolle were hugely important to Boston 's run to the postseason a year ago and will compete for spots, too, along with Kyle Harrison . Four pitchers who have yet to debut — Jake Bennett, Shane Drohan, David Sandlin and Tyler Uberstine — represent another layer of depth.
The Sox have 10 pitchers who could reasonably begin the year in the big league rotation. Simply put, something's got to give. Slotting Crochet, Suárez, Gray, Bello and Oviedo into the Opening Day group means decisions will have to be made on Crawford and Sandoval, who if healthy are the top fill-in options. Having Crawford be stretched out in the big league bullpen could pay dividends early in the year. Sandoval seems like a prime trade candidate, especially if he shows something in spring training.
Early and Tolle won't be in the major league bullpen to start the season and will get a chance to keep developing at Triple-A early in the year unless injuries decimate the main group. Harrison, Bennett, Sandlin and Uberstine represent depth options as the season goes on.
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BULLPEN (8):LHP Aroldis Chapman , RHP Garrett Whitlock , RHP Justin Slaten , RHP Zack Kelly , LHP Danny Coulombe *, LHP Jovani Morán , RHP Greg Weissert , RHP Kutter Crawford
WHICH MEANS... Jordan Hicks is cut, Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson is returned due to a crowded bullpen mix and a left-handed reliever (like Danny Coulombe) is signed to a major league deal.
ANALYSIS: The Red Sox are perhaps more set than any team in baseball when it comes to the back of their bullpen with Chapman returning to close and Whitlock back as one of the game's best setup man. After that, questions abound.
Slaten (when healthy) and Weissert are trustworthy right-handed options in Alex Cora's mind and should once again be major options in the sixth and seventh. Kelly still has minor league options but seems like a guy the Red Sox are going to push into a bigger role. With starters dealing with somewhat limited workloads early in the year, it makes sense to have a multi-inning relief option on the roster and Crawford, who will be in the mix for spot starts, too, fits the bill.
A Red Sox team intent on contending from the jump will have to make some hard decisions in an effort to field the best 26-man roster for 162 games. That means potentially losing some high-octane arms at the beginning of camp. Hicks is under contract and costly ($12 million CBT hit) but the leash needs to be short with him if the same problems that plagued him last year resurface. In past years, Rule 5 picks like Whitlock and Slaten have made a huge impact, but Boston can't guarantee Watson anything this time around, making his path to a roster spot more difficult. The Red Sox are also running low on 40-man spots, which is another factor working against Watson.
It remains clear that Craig Breslow wants to add a left-handed relief arm before Opening Day and there are a few still out there, including Coulombe, Cionel Pérez, Andrew Chafin, Brent Suter and others . The Red Sox really like Morán, who is out of options, but probably need to add someone else to that mix and Coulombe seems like the safest option. The addition of anyone on a major league deal would bump someone else out of the roster, and as always, injuries will further shake things up.
Early and Tolle will not be in consideration for the Opening Day bullpen and likely won't be considered relief options for most of the year. Triple-A depth options, at least to start, will include Sandlin, Uberstine, Tyler Samaniego and non-roster invitees Alec Gamboa, Seth Martinez and Tayron Guerrero .
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CATCHER (2): C Carlos Narváez , C Connor Wong
WHICH MEANS... No catcher is added to the 40-man roster before Opening Day.
ANALYSIS: Narváez has earned the right to be the starter and Wong, after signing a one-year arbitration deal, is back as his backup. If both are healthy, the Red Sox will head into 2026 with the same catching tandem they had in 2025. Contreras can be used as an emergency option even if it's something the club wants to avoid doing too often.
As MassLive has reported, Boston has been poking around the catching market for much of the last year, looking at both long-term projects and short-term depth upgrades. Those efforts will remain ongoing. The safe bet, in the interim, is that they will add a veteran catcher on a minor league deal to serve as depth at Triple-A. Right now, non-roster invitee Jason Delay is the third option with Nate Baez, Nathan Hickey and Ronald Rosario all in camp, too. But old friend Christian Vázquez remains a free agent along with Elias Diaz , Mitch Garver , Jacob Stallings , Gary Sánchez and Matt Thaiss . Expect the Red Sox to float minor league deals to players in that bucket in hopes of adding depth.
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INFIELD (6): 1B Willson Contreras, 2B Marcelo Mayer , SS Trevor Story, 3B Eugenio Suárez*, INF/OF Romy Gonzalez , INF/OF Nick Sogard
WHICH MEANS... The Red Sox surprisingly go the free agent route to fill their infield need with Eugenio Suárez and Marcelo Mayer starts at second base.
ANALYSIS: The infield is the group that needs the most attention over the next two months with Contreras and Story as the only certainties. It's unquestionable that the easiest path to solving the other two spots is some kind of trade ( Nico Hoerner ? Isaac Paredes ? Matt Shaw ? Someone else?) and as MassLive reported last week, the Red Sox remain significantly engaged with multiple clubs about those types of moves. Still, it's notable that with all the talks that have gone on, no common ground has been found to this point. That's only going to become more difficult as spring training gets underway.
The perfect scenario for the Red Sox would be unloading from a surplus (outfield? starting pitching?) to add a pretty good starter at either second base or third base in a sizable trade . At some point, though, it becomes a value proposition and it's clear Breslow doesn't like the asking prices, at least to this point, on the guys he's targeting. Running parallel to all of that is what seems to be a slow market for Suárez, who isn't a great defender and strikes out too often but did mash 49 homers last year. A rival agent speculated this week that he thinks Suárez's deal is going to come in much lower than initial projections suggested, meaning the Red Sox might see the value in getting the slugger on a very palatable deal. At that point, with the CBT budget soaring, other moves to move money are likely necessary.
The clearest path to finishing off the roster remains adding a bonafide big leaguer at either second or third and having Mayer and Gonzalez platoon at the other position. Gonzalez's potential contributions, especially after a very good 2025, shouldn't be dismissed. Sogard and David Hamilton have minor league options remaining and are likely going to be riding the Worcester shuttle throughout the year. Minor league free agent Vinny Capra and prospect Mikey Romero profile as depth. Triston Casas , of course, will be in the mix for at-bats as the season progresses but seems likely to begin the year on the injured list as he finishes his recovery from knee surgery.
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OUTFIELD/DESIGNATED HITTER (5): LF Roman Anthony , CF Ceddanne Rafaela , RF Wilyer Abreu , OF/DH Jarren Duran , INF/OF Nate Eaton
WHICH MEANS... The Red Sox don't trade a starting outfielder to fill an infield need but do move on from Masataka Yoshida, potentially in a salary dump in which a prospect is attached. Also, Kristian Campbell begins the year at Triple-A.
ANALYSIS: Red Sox decision-makers have been saying for months that they don't feel it's likely an outfielder is traded before Opening Day . Should we start believing them? At this point, a roster that includes Anthony, Rafaela, Abreu and Duran in the rotating outfield/designated hitter mix is far from supremely functional but also gives the Sox tremendous upside on both sides of the ball. The guess here is that if everyone stays, Anthony and Duran rotate between left field and the DH spot with Rafaela and Abreu serving as something close to everyday starters at their position. Rafaela can also move to second base on select days with Duran (or Anthony) filling in for him in center. Eaton would serve Rob Refsnyder 's old role but get fewer at-bats than Refsnyder because the Red Sox want Abreu to start against lefties.
That leaves Yoshida as the odd man out, and an expensive one at that. At a certain point, Breslow will have to cut his losses with Yoshida, who is not without value but simply doesn't fit the roster as currently constructed. Having a team eat a large chunk of Yoshida's remaining salary — and taking a prospect along with him — is a path to clearing the logjam and some money. The Red Sox should be actively exploring such moves.
Campbell is unlikely to see much time in the infield this season and after a lot of run in spring training, projects to be a starting outfielder for the WooSox. He'll be in the mix as a call-up option as injuries pop up.
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