SEATTLE —The Red Sox will open their 2024 regular season Thursday when they play the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. eastern.
The deadline for MLB teams to finalize their Opening Day rosters is 12 p.m. eastern Thursday.
Barring any last-second moves, Boston’s roster will include five newcomers (Tyler O’Neill, Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten, Chase Anderson and Isaiah Campbell) and just one left-handed pitcher (reliever Joely Rodriguez).
Boston gave out only $52.25 million in guaranteed money in free agency: Lucas Giolito ($38.5M), Liam Hendriks ($10M), Rodriguez ($1.5M) Anderson ($1.25M) and Cooper Criswell ($1M).
Giolito won’t pitch at all in 2024 after undergoing an internal brace procedure on the partially torn ligament earlier this month. Hendriks also will begin the season on the IL. He is coming off Tommy John surgery last Aug. 2 and hopes to return by the trade deadline but there’s a chance he won’t pitch in 2024.
Criswell will begin the season in Triple-A Worcester’s starting rotation.
The Red Sox acquired 30-year-old Japanese right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa from the Rays for cash considerations Wednesday. He’s likely to begin the season in Worcester’s starting rotation.
All things considered, the roster doesn’t look much different from last year. It arguably is worse on paper than last year’s team.
Below are the 26 players expected to be on the Opening Day roster. MassLive ranks them from No. 26 to 1.
RANKING RED SOX PLAYERS ON EXPECTED 26-MAN ROSTER:
26. Chase Anderson, RHP: The Red Sox signed the 36-year-old Anderson on Saturday to a one-year, $1.25 million contract. He has the potential to earn up to $500,000 more in performance bonuses. He’ll work as a multi-inning reliever. Anderson’s changeup is his best pitch. Opponents have gone just 196-for-998 (.196 batting average) against the pitch in his major league career. He also throws a cutter, four-seam fastball, sinker, sweeper, curveball and slider, per Baseball Savant.
25. Bobby Dalbec, 1B/DH/OF: The 28-year-old has the ability to give first baseman Triston Casas an occasional day off against a tough left-handed starter. He also provides a right-handed hitting DH and outfield option. He led all Red Sox minor leaguers with 33 homers in 2023 but he also continued to strike out at an alarming rate (34.3% strikeout percentage) at Triple-A Worcester last year.
24. Pablo Reyes, IF: With second baseman Vaughn Grissom (left groin strain) beginning the season on the injured list, Reyes is an option to play second against left-handed starters. The 30-year-old right-handed hitter went 17-for-52 (.327) with a .368 on-base percentage against southpaws last season. He actually was better defensively at shortstop than second base in ‘23.
23. Enmanuel Valdez, 2B: With Grissom on the IL, the 25-year-old Valdez should receive starts at second base against right-handed starters. Manager Alex Cora pointed to Valdez, a left-handed hitter, as the top option at second base when Grissom got hurt. Valdez, who made his major league debut last April 19, hit well after the Red Sox recalled him in September. He went 15-for-45 (.333) with a .375 on-base percentage, .556 slugging percentage, .931 OPS, two homers, four doubles, eight runs, eight RBIs, three walks and 10 strikeouts in 16 games for Boston during the final month. He posted negative-6 defensive runs saved in 357 innings at second base last year. He worked during the offseason on his first step and lateral movement.
22. Reese McGuire, C: The 29-year-old backup catcher has recorded a .291/.333/.407/.740 line in 108 games (314 plate appearances) since Boston acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline. The Red Sox have solid backups, including two-time Gold Glover Roberto Pérez and Tyler Heineman (on the 40-man roster) at Worcester if McGuire struggles or they want to upgrade defensively.
21. Joely Rodriguez, LHP: The Red Sox guaranteed Rodriguez a roster spot Sunday after signing him to a minor league deal in the offseason. The 32-year-old southpaw has a changeup that he can use to get righties out but he needs to stay in the strike zone to be successful as Cora has mentioned. He has averaged 4.2 walks per nine innings in his career. He’ll be the only left-handed pitcher on the Opening Day roster.
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20. Greg Weissert, RHP: Cora compared the 29-year-old righty who has a three-quarters arm slot to John Schreiber. “He’s very similar to John as far as stuff,” Cora said. “Good slider. Good fastball. We’ve just gotta make sure we throw strikes with the stuff but he’s really good.” Weissert, acquired from the Yankees in the Alex Verdugo trade, is focused on command. He has averaged 4.2 walks per nine innings in the minors and 3.7 walks per nine innings in the majors. He had a strong spring training, allowing just one run in 9 ⅓ innings. He struck out 12, walked three and gave up six hits.
19. Justin Slaten, RHP: Slaten has Rule 5 status, meaning he must remain on Boston’s active roster for the entire regular season (barring an IL stint) or be returned to his previous club for $50,000. The 26-year-old has a fastball in the upper-90s but improvements he made to his offspeed pitches (slider, cutter, curveball) this spring really stood out. The Red Sox put an emphasis on him throwing his offspeed pitches in the strike zone. He now feels more comfortable using his secondary pitches more frequently. He’ll work out of the bullpen this year but there’s potential for him to start games in future seasons.
18. Isaiah Campbell, RHP: The 26-year-old righty, who the Red Sox acquired from the Mariners for infielder Luis Urías on Nov. 17, has a mid-90s fastball and nasty slider. Opponents went just 7-for-51 (.137 batting average) with one extra-base hit (double) and a .157 slugging percentage against his slider last year. He’s also effective against left-handed batters, holding them to a .163 batting average in his 27 outings (28 ⅔ innings) for Seattle last year.
17. Connor Wong, C: Wong eliminated the toe tap in his swing during the offseason, then enjoyed a terrific spring. He went 14-for-41 (.341) with two homers and six doubles in 16 spring training games. It’s likely the 27-year-old will serve as Boston’s long-term backup catcher once highly-touted prospect Kyle Teel is ready for the majors. For now, Wong will receive the bulk of the innings behind the plate. He caught 121 games, including making 105 starts, as a rookie last year.
16. Josh Winckowski, RHP: The 25-year-old competed during camp for a spot in the Red Sox’ starting rotation but he lost out to Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck. He will pitch out of the bullpen where he was a workhorse last season. His 84 ⅓ innings tied for the most among MLB relievers in ‘23 (one of those innings came as an opener). He’ll be used as a multi-inning reliever.
15. Wilyer Abreu, OF: His advanced pitch recognition skills helped him post an impressive 25.1% chase percentage and 10.6% walk percentage in 85 plate appearances for Boston last season as a rookie. The 24-year-old left-handed hitter struggled in spring training though, going 8-for-63 (.127) with 26 strikeouts. He did draw 14 walks though.
14. Ceddanne Rafaela, CF: The Red Sox are willing to sacrifice some offense right now for the Gold Glove-caliber defense Rafaela has the potential to provide in center field. The 23-year-old has a ton of upside offensively as he led all Red Sox minor leaguers in extra-base hits in 2022 and ‘23 but he needs to cut down on chasing pitches outside of the strike zone. After earning a promotion to Boston late last August, he had a 38.8% chase percentage, 29.0% whiff percentage, 31.5% strikeout percentage and 4.5% walk percentage in 89 plate appearances.
13. Tyler O’Neill, OF: Which O’Neill will the Red Sox get this season as the soon-to-be 29-year-old enters his free agent walk year? Boston acquired the slugger from the Cardinals in December. He belted 34 homers with a .912 OPS in 2021. He has won two Gold Gloves (2020, ‘21). But the corner outfielder has had difficulty staying healthy during his career. The 2021 season marks the only year he has appeared in more than 96 games. He has been on the injured list 12 different times since 2018, his rookie year.
12. Nick Pivetta RHP: The 31-year-old is entering his free agent walk season and he’ll make the start Friday in the second game of the regular season. The 2023 season didn’t begin well for the righty as he posted a 6.30 ERA in his first eight starts, then got demoted to the bullpen. But he finished the season with career bests in ERA (4.04), WHIP (1.12) and opponent batting average (.208). He struck out 31.2% of the batters he faced, also a career high. He finished second among Red Sox pitchers in innings pitched (142 ⅔ innings).
11. Garrett Whitlock, RHP: The 27-year-old will get another chance to start and his changeup is incredibly important to his success in that role. Opponents went just 10-for-54 (.185 batting average) against his changeup during his dominant rookie season in 2021, then 8-for-71 (.113) against it in 2022. But opponents were 29-for-93 (.312) against the pitch last year.
10. Tanner Houck, RHP: The 27-year-old won a spot in the starting rotation thanks to a strong spring training. He gave up just four runs, 10 hits and three walks while striking out 16 in 15 innings (2.40 ERA, .189 BAA, 0.87 WHIP). His mechanics are in a good spot. He said it’s important to let his “lower half work and keep his upper half as still as possible.” Earlier in camp, he compared it to shooting a bow and arrow. He must work deeper into games.
9. Kenley Jansen, RHP: The 36-year-old had a frustrating spring training as he dealt with lat soreness that he felt soon after he reported, then lower back tightness. But the closer was excellent in three outings over the final five days of camp. He retired all nine batters he faced, striking out four.
8. Chris Martin, RHP: Nobody was more dominant out of the Red Sox bullpen last year than the 37-year-old righty who finished with a 1.05 ERA (51 ⅓ innings, six runs). The dominant strike-thrower averaged just 1.4 walks per nine innings in ‘23, slightly above his career mark of 1.3 walks per nine innings. He was slowed a bit in spring training because of groin tightness. But he pitched a hitless and scoreless inning both Sunday and Tuesday. He’ll be ready for the opener.
7. Brayan Bello, RHP: The 24-year-old enjoyed a lucrative spring training, signing a $55 million contract extension earlier this month that can max out at $75 million. Bello knows the one area he needs to improve his getting more swing-and-miss. He was in the 37th percentile in whiff percentage (24.4%) and 26th percentile in strikeout percentage (19.8%) last year. He visited Pedro Martinez’s house in the Dominican for a few days in the offseason to work on his slider. He thinks an improved slider — to go along with an already dominant changeup — should help him strike out more batters. He will get the ball on Opening Day.
6. Kutter Crawford, RHP: The 27-year-old was arguably Boston’s best starter last season. He finished in the 88th percentile in the majors in expected batting average against (.208), 87th percentile in expected ERA (3.25) and 82nd percentile in chase percentage (31.9%). His fastball — which he threw 39.1% of the time — was one of the most effective fastballs in the league. Opponents batted just .164 with a .177 expected batting average against it.
5. Masataka Yoshida, DH/OF: The 30-year-old, who will receive the majority of the at-bats at DH this year, finished 2023 in the 93rd percentile in strikeout percentage (14.0%), 86th percentile in whiff percentage (18.3%) and 80th percentile in expected batting average (.273). But he needs to hit for more power. He was in the 48th percentile in expected slugging percentage (.425). His stats dropped off during the second half last year. Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki of the Cubs saw a big leap from his first to second year in the majors. His OPS increased 73 points from .769 to .842. He also played more, going from 446 plate appearances in 2022 to 583 plate appearances in ‘23. It should be interesting to see if Yoshida takes a similar leap during his second season in MLB.
4. Jarren Duran, OF: The 27-year-old will play more corner outfield this season with Rafaela taking over in center field. He finished in the 96th percentile in sprint speed (29.5) last season. The speedster’s 34 doubles tied for second among Red Sox hitters last year. He was only three behind the leader (Alex Verdugo, 37) and he did it in 240 fewer plate appearances.
3. Trevor Story, SS: The 31-year-old was excellent defensively in his return from elbow surgery last year, finishing with eight defensive runs saved in 314 innings. Having him out there every day should make the entire infield better defensively. He needs to provide power from the right side of the plate. He certainly looked good in spring training, going 19-for-50 (.380) with three homers and four doubles.
2. Triston Casas, 1B: The 24-year-old is primed for a big year after batting .317 with a .417 on-base percentage, .617 slugging percentage, 1.034 OPS, 15 homers, seven doubles, one triple, 38 RBIs, 32 runs, 30 walks and 50 strikeouts in 54 games (211 plate appearances) during the second half of his rookie season last year. He finished in the 93rd percentile among qualified major league hitters in walk percentage (13.9%), 86th percentile in chase percentage (22.1%) and 92nd percentile in expected weighted on-base percentage (.370).
1. Rafael Devers, 3B: The 27-year-old walked only three times in 99 plate appearances (3% walk percentage) during May last year. But he then walked 51 times in 434 plate appearances (11.8% walk percentage) over his final 101 games. He’ll need to take a patient approach this season as he might see fewer strikes in a weaker lineup without Justin Turner. Some might have considered 2023 a down year for him but he ended up ranking in the 94th percentile or higher in average exit velocity (93.1 mph), expected slugging percentage (.539), weighted on-base percentage (.380) and hard hit percentage (55.1%).
