The Boston Red Sox will start their regular season on March 28th when they take on the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. A first pitch of 7 PM Eastern Time is scheduled.
With 17 days left in the regular season I am going to predict the opening day roster and lineup. This still has plenty of time to change because of injures and/or trades.
A trade that everyone is expecting before opening day is one of the three catchers going elsewhere. The one that is most unlikely to get traded is Christian Vazquez. From all reports, Vazquez is having his best spring and could be ready for a breakout season. That leaves Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart. Short term, Leon would be more beneficial to keep. The pitchers seem very comfortable with Leon behind the plate. Long term, Swihart would be more beneficial to keep. With Vazquez there for long term, I believe Swihart will be the one traded. He could help the Red Sox get the most in return. It would also be beneficial to the career of Swihart. He could get regular playing time with another team.
As for the rest of the position players, this team is set. Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce will split time at first base. Everyone seems optimistic that Dustin Pedroia will be the second baseman. They do have depth with Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez as options if Pedroia does have a setback. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers will handle the left side of the infield. Holt, Nunez, and Tzu Wei Lin provide depth.
The outfield could be the best in baseball with Andrew Benintendi in left, Jackie Bradley JR in center, and Mookie Betts. JD Martinez will also see action in right and left field when he isn’t the DH. Holt will also play in the outfield. Gorkys Hernandez is getting regular at bats in spring training. For him to have any chance on making the team, one of the catchers will most likely have to be traded. Hernandez was a regular for the San Francisco Giants last season. If Swihart is still on the roster, he provides flexibility in the corner infield and outfield positions. I believe the last position spot on the roster will be between Nunez and Hernandez.
The starting pitching is loaded with Chris Sale leading the way. David Price, Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi, and Eduardo Rodriguez round out the starting five. The Red Sox already have announced they will go with six starters the first turn around the rotation. That means either Brian Johnson or Hector Velazquez will get a start in Oakland. Sometimes coming off a world championship, the starting pitching starts off slow the next season. With Alex Cora managing the workload in spring training and early in the season, they hope that won’t happen to the 2019 squad.
The bullpen, you probably have heard about the bullpen. Everyone in the Boston and national media seem to be focused on that. It is understandable because that is the only noticeable weakness coming into the season. The Red Sox have not announced a closer and there is a chance they won’t before March 28th. Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes are the obvious choices. More likely, the Sox will with matchups and there best option for that game may be used in the seventh inning if that is when the middle of the opponents order is due up. With Cora pushing the buttons this could work, but Barnes needs to be more consistent and Brasier needs to duplicate what he did last season. Neither of those things are guaranteed. Another pitcher that could be a huge factor is Tyler Thornburg. He was never 100% last season and it showed on the mound. Thornburg has been struggling this spring, he also struggled during spring training during his good seasons with the Brewers. Bobby Poyner should be the key lefty. Colten Brewer, Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman, Johnson, and Velazquez could also be keys out of Cora’s bullpen. Darwinzon Hernandez and Travis Lakins will most likely start the season in the minors but could be factors early in the season. I believe the final pitching spot will be between Workman and Hembree. This is very subject to change as one of the catchers could be used to get a reliever from a different team before opening day. Below is the prediction for the opening day roster.
Pitchers (12)
- Sale
- Price
- Porcello
- Eovaldi
- Rodriguez
- Johnson
- Velazquez
- Barnes
- Brasier
- Poyner
- Brewer
- Hembree
Catcher (2)
- Vazquez
- Leon
Infield (7)
- Moreland
- Pearce
- Pedroia
- Bogaerts
- Devers
- Holt
- Nunez
Outfield/DH (4)
- Betts
- Bradley JR
- Benintendi
- Martinez
