Red Sox roster projection: Navigating the cutthroat rotation battle
After a three-year slump, the Red Sox made a strong comeback last season, securing their spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Despite their loss to the Yankees in the American League Wild Card Series, the team headed into the offseason with high hopes of maintaining momentum and potentially competing for the World Series in 2026.
This winter has been a whirlwind of activity, with Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow orchestrating a league-high 12 trades, completely revamping the pitching staff and clearing out depth players no longer in the team's future plans. The Red Sox also waited until January to sign a free agent, missing out on top target Alex Bregman before pivoting to right-hander Ranger Suarez.
Now, the Red Sox step into the new season with a starting rotation that's arguably the best in baseball, but also a host of unanswered questions about the rest of the roster's composition.
With pitchers and catchers set to report on Tuesday, the Red Sox still need an additional infield bat and have questions surrounding their disjointed outfield picture. The team is also brimming with depth starters while lacking traditional relievers.
Amidst this uncertainty, one thing is certain: a lot will change between now and Opening Day. Here's our initial projection of the Red Sox's 26-man roster.
Starting Rotation
- MLB: Garrett Crochet (L), Ranger Suarez (L), Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, Johan Oviedo
- MiLB depth: Connelly Early (L), Payton Tolle (L), Kyle Harrison (L), Shane Drohan (L), Tyler Uberstine, Jake Bennett (L)
- 60-day IL: Tanner Houck
- Traded: Patrick Sandoval (L)
The first four spots in the rotation are likely to be filled by Crochet, Suarez, Gray, and Bello, in some order. However, the fifth spot is up for grabs, with Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Kyle Harrison, Connelly Early, and Payton Tolle in the running.
Early, Tolle, and Harrison are likely to start in Triple-A, leaving Oviedo, Crawford, and Sandoval as the favorites. For now, we project Oviedo as the No. 5 starter, despite giving up a significant asset in top outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to acquire him.
The big question is what the Red Sox will do with the two veterans who don't make the cut. One option is a six-man rotation, but this is usually more theoretical than practical. Instead, the more likely scenario is that the odd man out will move to the bullpen, with Sandoval potentially being traded due to his limited experience as a reliever and high salary.
Bullpen
- MLB: Aroldis Chapman (L), Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, Zack Kelly, Jovani Moran (L), Ryan Watson, Kutter Crawford
- MiLB depth: Tyler Samaniego (L)
The bullpen is surprisingly light on bodies, with only eight traditional relievers on the 40-man roster. Assuming Crawford or another starter fills the long-relief role, the rest of the bullpen is set, with Chapman as the closer, Whitlock as the top set-up man, and Slaten, Weissert, and Kelly as mid-leverage options.
Catcher
- MLB: Carlos Narvaez, Connor Wong
- MiLB depth: Mickey Gasper, Matt Thaiss, Jason Delay, Nate Baez, Nathan Hickey, Ronald Rosario
The Red Sox have bolstered their organizational depth at catcher, but the big league picture remains unchanged, with Narvaez as the starter and Wong as the primary backup.
Infielders
- MLB: Willson Contreras (1B), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2B), Trevor Story (SS), Marcelo Mayer (3B), Romy Gonzalez (Util.), Nate Eaton (Util.)
- MiLB depth: Kristian Campbell, David Hamilton, Nick Sogard, Gasper, Tsung-Che Cheng, Brendan Rodgers
- 15-day IL: Triston Casas (1B/DH)
The infield picture is still incomplete, with the team in need of an impact bat, preferably an infielder who can hit for power from the right side. While Willson Contreras fits this profile, the Red Sox still need at least one more to complete the lineup.
Outfielders
- MLB: Roman Anthony (LF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Wilyer Abreu (RF), Jarren Duran (OF), Masataka Yoshida (DH)
- MiLB depth: Campbell, Braiden Ward
The outfield picture is a bit of a mess, with more starting-caliber outfielders than the team can accommodate. The Red Sox will need to make some tough decisions to find a balance between starting and bench players.
