You’re never going to have a complete picture in early March of what a team will look like on Opening Day, and the Boston Red Sox are no exception.
That said, we might receive something of a glimpse at how the Sox will line up April 1 based on Boston’s lineup Wednesday afternoon.
The Red Sox Sox are set to meet the Atlanta Braves in Grapefruit League action. Outside of the pitcher and center fielder, we could see this being Boston’s lineup when the club opens its regular season in a few weeks.
Kike Hernandez, 2B
Alex Verdugo, RF
J.D. Martinez, LF
Rafael Devers, 3B
Hunter Renfroe, DH
Marwin Gonzalez, SS
Christian Vazquez, C
Bobby Dalbec, 1B
Jarren Duran, CF
The obvious omission here is Xander Bogaerts, who is working his way back from shoulder soreness but expects to be ready for the start of the season. Bogaerts, obviously, would take over at shortstop and likely hit fifth or third, bumping everyone in the bottom of the order down a spot.
Duran, though an exciting prospect, is the player least likely to break camp with the big league club. In turn, Verdugo would shift to center, Martinez would be the DH and Gonzalez would play right field.
Dalbec isn’t exactly your prototypical nine-hole hitter, but Alex Cora has made clear that the Red Sox plan to have a strong bottom of the lineup this season, so don’t rule anything out.
Matt Andriese will be on the mound for the Red Sox. Although he likely will play a big role as a long reliever/opener, we’re pretty confident that he won’t be Boston’s Opening Day starter.
First pitch for Red Sox-Braves is set for 1:05 p.m. ET from JetBlue Park.
