State of the Red Sox: Seven roster spots unsettled a week before Opening Day

FORT MYERS — In the past two days, the Red Sox have basically chosen their backup catcher, made a couple of meaningful cuts in their bullpen, and clarified — kinda — their second base competition. But Opening Day is a week away, there are still 46 players in big league camp, and manager Alex Cora doesn’t expect to finalize a roster until the 48 hours or so before first pitch.

“Maybe Monterrey,” he said, referencing next week’s pair of exhibition games in Mexico. “We’re getting close, but we’re not in a rush.”

The pitching staff, Cora said, likely will be set by the weekend, but a decision on the last two or three position players could go the distance, waiting until the final moment before the Red Sox settle into Texas for Thursday’s season opener against the Rangers.

Barring a late injury or setback, 19 roster spots seem more-or-less set — though the precise role for one of those is still up in the air — which leaves seven jobs still undecided. This, then, is the state of the Red Sox spring training roster with a week to go before Opening Day.

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Starting pitchers (12)

Locked into spots: Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler

On the 40-man: Richard Fitts, Cooper Criswell, Quinn Priester

Also in camp: Michael Fulmer, Sean Newcomb

Injured: Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval

Crochet, Houck and Buehler are set as the top three starters, but the Red Sox have a temporary need for two more starters while Bello and Giolito are headed for the Injured List to open the season. Bello and Giolito are throwing bullpens and simply need time to build up, but the Red Sox open by playing 20 days in a row, so they can’t afford to wait.

Hard-throwing Fitts, acquired from the Yankees last winter for Alex Verdugo, has impressed with velocity and results, and the sense is that he’s the front-runner for the No. 4 spot (he’s been pitching the day after Buehler, which means he’s lined up for the fourth game). The No. 5 starter seems to be more of a toss-up as Newcomb and Priester pitched on Thursday, keeping each of them on turn for that fifth game. Criswell, who made 18 starts for the Red Sox last year, has missed time this spring with an illness, but Cora said that hasn’t necessarily knocked him out of contention for a roster spot out of camp.

Regardless of who wins the last two rotation jobs, those roles could be short-lived as neither Bello nor Giolito seems far behind schedule, and even Crawford, who hasn’t pitched in a game this spring because of a knee issue, is throwing off a mound and making progress.

Red Sox RHP Quinn Priester threw five innings on the backfields today. FB 93-95, CT 90-92, CB 80-82, CH 88-90. In control for most of the outing (one missed spot for a HR) & was able to overwhelm the A ball hitters. CB & CH were especially effective & go to swing & miss pitches.

— Ian Cundall (@IanCundall) March 20, 2025

Relief pitchers (13)

Locked into spots: Aroldis Chapman, Liam Hendricks, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Wilson

On the 40-man: Brennan Bernardino, Zack Kelly, Greg Weissert

Also in camp: Matt Moore, Adam Ottavino, Bryan Mata

Injured: Zach Penrod, Chris Murphy

Even among the five relievers who are basically guaranteed bullpen jobs, there remains some intrigue about who will end up as the closer. Chapman has been overpowering this spring, while Hendriks has been less dominant, but both have pitched in back-to-back games and seem ready for late-inning roles. Slaten, too, could be in the closer conversation. The Red Sox seem to prefer Whitlock as a multi-inning reliever. Wilson could be the go-to lefty if Chapman is the closer.

The last three bullpen spots gained some clarity Wednesday when Luis Guerrero and Josh Winckowski were sent to minor league camp — Guerrero was “erratic,” Cora said, and Winckowski flat out “struggled” — but there remain at least six relievers for three open spots, plus the team could carry one of the rotation candidates as a long man. Is that the plan?

“To be honest with you, I can’t anticipate that,” Cora said. “We still have to see who it’s going to be, who’s healthy and who’s not, and then we’ll make decisions.”

Because they were major league free agents who signed minor league deals, Moore and Ottavino have the right to opt out in the coming days if they don’t make the team. That could be one of the reasons Cora said he expects to settle on a pitching staff by Sunday.

Catchers (3)

Locked into spots: Connor Wong

On the 40-man: Carlos Narváez

Also in camp: Seby Zavala

The Red Sox all but settled their catching situation Thursday when they optioned Blake Sabol to Triple A, leaving Wong and Narváez — acquired in a minor trade with the Yankees this offseason — as the only in-camp catchers currently on the 40-man roster. Zavala has considerable major league experience and Cora did not rule him out of the competition to be Wong’s backup — “We still have those two here,” he said — but Narváez has played quite a bit more than Zavala in spring training and seems the easiest, most obvious choice.

Infielders (10)

Locked into spots: Rafael Devers, Alex Bregman, Triston Casas, Trevor Story, David Hamilton

On the 40-man: Romy Gonzalez, Nick Sogard

Also in camp: Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Abraham Toro

We might be getting ahead of ourselves assuming Hamilton is locked into a roster spot, but he’s played well this spring and seems a no-brainer to make the team either as a platoon second baseman or as a utility man who gets a good amount of playing time off the bench. The industry — and the Red Sox — seem to value Hamilton quite a bit more than his relatively limited public profile would suggest. The other five “locked into spots” infielders are obvious, even if Devers isn’t going to be much of an infielder while he DHs this season.

There’s still room, though, for at least one more infielder and maybe two. The second base competition feels legitimately unsettled. The team could hand the job to a prospect — either Mayer or Campbell — or perhaps platoon Hamilton with one of Gonzalez or Sogard (leaving open the possibility of eventually giving the job to one of the kids if they get on a roll in Triple A). Vaughn Grissom was optioned Wednesday after struggling offensively this spring.

It’s worth noting that Hamilton was at second base while Campbell played left field Thursday. Cora said he wanted Hamilton to get another turn at second while Campbell was in left just to get him in the lineup. Campbell is versatile, but there’s really no chance the Red Sox will carry such a highly touted young player in a utility bench role. He’s either going to have an everyday job or he’s going to be in Triple A. The same is true for Mayer, who’s either going to open the season playing second base for the Red Sox or playing mostly shortstop for the Triple-A WooSox.

Outfielders (8)

Locked into spots: Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Rob Refsnyder

Also in camp: Roman Anthony, Nate Eaton, Trayce Thompson

Injured: Masataka Yoshida

After missing time with an illness, it seemed for a while that Abreu might not be ready for Opening Day, but he’s looking more and more like a lock to make the team out of camp. Abreu took at-bats in a minor league game on Thursday, and Cora said Abreu’s been moving well and throwing well in the outfield. The other “locked in” outfielders are obvious and have never been in doubt.

Two lingering questions: If it turns out Abreu can’t actually break camp, would the Red Sox carry an uber-prospect like Anthony or give the job to a more experienced player like Eaton or Thompson (each of whom has played well on a minor league deal)? And even if Abreu makes the team, would the Red Sox give their final bench spot to another infielder, or could Rafaela’s versatility open the door to carrying a fifth outfielder? Again, it’s worth noting that Gonzalez and Sogard, who are listed as infielders, can play the outfield. Hamilton also has outfield experience.

Thompson, who has speed, power, and can play center field, has had some good seasons in the big leagues (2.2 bWAR with the Dodgers in 2022), and he’s been excellent this spring (six home runs, easily the most on the team). But unlike veteran relievers Ottavino and Moore, Thompson doesn’t have an immediate opt-out in his contract, meaning the Red Sox can send him to Triple A without risk of losing him.

(Photo of Hamilton: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)

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