It's MLB Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox. Here's what to know as the 2026 season starts.
The Boston Red Sox will face the Reds in Cincinnati today to start the 2026 MLB season.
Garrett Crochet gets the start for the Red Sox against the Reds' Andrew Abbott at Great American Ballpark.
Where can you watch the Boston Red Sox on Opening Day 2026?
You can watch the Red Sox and Reds at 4:10 p.m. Eastern time.
The Red Sox games are broadcast on the New England Sports Network (NESN) while you can watch the Reds on REDS.TV.
What is the Red Sox roster and lineup heading into Opening Day 2026?
When we last saw the Red Sox in a major league ballpark, they were walking off the field after being eliminated by the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium.
Boston finished the regular season at 89-73 in third place in the AL East.
What did they learn? A lot.
The Sox found out they have a solid foundation of young talent. Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Garrett Whitlock.
And now in 2026, after adding proven starting pitching, the potential is there, on paper, for the Red Sox to win a World Series.
Red Sox starting rotation
Alex Cora's club will be led by a solid starting rotation beginning with ace Garrett Crochet. The 26-year-old answered the bell 32 times last season, going 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA. He tossed a career-high 205.1 innings, allowing just 165 hits and 46 walks while striking out 255 hitters. He finished second in the AL Cy Young voting behind Tarik Skubal.
- Garrett Crochet
- Sonny Gray
- Connelly Early
- Ranger Suarez / Johan Oviedo
- Brayan Bello
The only question with Crochet is - can he do it again? Or maybe - can he come close to doing it again? If he can, the Red Sox will make the postseason and have the potential to make a long run. If he falters, it becomes a much more difficult task.
Craig Breslow chose to add proven veteran starting pitching in the offseason. RHP Sonny Gray will slot in behind Crochet. Gray will eat up innings (180, 166, 184 in his last three seasons) and give you strikeouts (200+ in each of his last two seasons). He knows what he's doing. LHP Ranger Suarez will give you 150 innings and if the Sox advance to the postseason, he'll perform (11 games, 4-1, 1.48 ERA).
Brayan Bello was lights out in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic and hopefully that helps him get off to a terrific start in 2026. He's won 37 games in the past three seasons, but he has a chance to take it to another level. Maybe this will be the year.
Rookie Connelly Early was impressive in a brief regular season stint last season and Alex Cora turned to him in Game 3 of the Wild Card series against the Yankees. Early wasn't as good as New York's Cam Schlittler, but he showed a lot in his 3.2 innings as he struck out six on the big stage. Cora will give him the ball in Game 3 Sunday against Cincinnati as Johan Oviedo (acquired from Pittsburgh) will piggyback off of Suarez in his start at Houston.
The Red Sox look to have starting pitching depth too as Payton Tolle, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval all should be able to help this season.
Red Sox bullpen
As for the bullpen, like Crochet, closer Aroldis Chapman hopes to repeat his 2025 campaign. The 38-year-old had a career-high 3.6 WAR while making the All-Star team. He notched 30-plus saves (32) for the ninth time in his career. If he can come close to that this year, the Red Sox will be in good shape.
- Aroldis Chapman
- Garrett Whitlock
- Greg Weissert
- Ryan Watson
- Jovani Morán
- Danny Coulombe
Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten, and Rule V Draft pick Ryan Watson will be the right handers out of the 'pen while Jovani Morán and Danny Coulombe are your lefties. To me, this is the biggest question mark on the team as bullpen consistency is simply hard to find season to season.
Red Sox lineup
- Roman Anthony LF
- Trevor Story SS
- Jarren Duran DH
- Willson Contreras 1B
- Wilyer Abreu RF
- Caleb Durbin 3B
- Marcelo Mayer 2B
- Ceddanne Rafaela CF
- Carlos Narvaez C
Rather than re-sign Alex Bregman, the Red Sox traded for Caleb Durbin. In his one MLB season with Milwaukee, the righthanded hitter notched a 2.8 WAR while hitting .256 with 11 HR, 53 RBI and 18 stolen bases. The 26-year-old is only 5'6" but we've seen those players thrive in the big leagues in Boston, like Dustin Pedroia.
Sitting at the top of the lineup is your franchise player, Roman Anthony. At 21 years old the hype train is rolling in the game of baseball as everyone (front office, scouts, coaches and players) continues to rave about the outfielder. In 71 games before getting hurt last season, Anthony hit .292 with 8 HRs, 32 RBI, .859 OPS, and 4 stolen bases. Anthony is in the MVP conversation for 2026. It should be fun to watch him develop.
Anthony, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu (as well as Masataka Yoshida) all played well in the WBC and the Red Sox are hoping that carries into the regular season.
Playing time could be an issue. Alex Cora has said that Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu will play every day. Roman Anthony and Jarren Duran will see time in left field and the designated hitter spot. Yoshida will come off the bench or spot start.
Durbin and Marcelo Mayer have an opportunity right in front of them. Cora has pushed Mayer from day one of Spring Training, wanting him to take the job seriously. He's seemingly responded. Now he needs to go out, stay healthy, and take that next step. The talent is there. Let's see if he can blossom. Durbin simply needs to build upon his 2025 campaign, and he'll be fine.
I've drafted Wilyer Abreu in Fantasy Baseball leagues. He's in tremendous shape and should be primed for a breakout season.
The 2026 Boston Red Sox
Everything is there for the taking for this Red Sox team. They have the parts, and it just needs to come together. The Yankees, Blue Jays and Mariners all look good on paper too, but they all have flaws.
Looking forward to watching this Red Sox team to see if they can take that next step.
