FORT MYERS, Fla. — After a busy winter of moves, the Red Sox don’t seem to have a lot to figure out when it comes to putting together their Opening Day roster. Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer both appear likely to start in the infield, Alex Cora seems comfortable rotating his starting outfielders through the designated hitter spot and Jovani Morán looks to have the inside track on a left-handed bullpen spot. The most interesting competition, then, is at the back end of Boston’s rotation.
When the Sox acquired right-hander Johan Oviedo from the Pirates in an early December trade, he seemed to be a lock for the back end of the Opening Day rotation. Weeks later, the pivot to Ranger Suárez pushed everyone back a spot in the rotation mix, leaving one true opening behind Garrett Crochet, Suárez, Sonny Gray and Brayan Bello. So is the job Oviedo’s to lose? Not so fast.
In the spirit of competition, the Red Sox currently view the No. 5 spot in their rotation as a true opening, sources said this week, with Oviedo, returnees Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval and rookie lefties Connelly Early and Payton Tolle all in the mix to break camp with the team at the end of March. While the Red Sox remain very intrigued with Oviedo’s upside and like what they’ve seen so far from him in camp, they aren’t promising anything to the soon-to-be 28-year-old.
“There’s a job to win,” said pitching coach Andrew Bailey. “There’s a lot of different things we can do with that spot. Even with the amount of off days we have early in the season, maximizing those. We want to, first and foremost, get everyone through camp healthy, hitting on their goals and what they want to accomplish in camp.”
Considering the Red Sox paid a high price for Oviedo — Boston shipped outfield prospect Jhostyxnon Garcia and pitcher Jesus Travieso to the Pirates for a three-player package of Oviedo, reliever Tyler Samaniego and catching prospect Adonys Guzman — it would seem that chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is high on Oviedo’s chances to turn into a rotation force. He has yet to prove that in a large big league sample size, though, and has logged more than 62-⅓ innings in the majors just once (2023). While the Red Sox were tantalized by how the Cuba native looked in a nine-start sample size late last season after returning from Tommy John surgery, they are aware that Oviedo is not a finished product. His newness to the organization creates another variable, as does the fact that he still has a minor league option remaining and can be sent freely to Triple-A Worcester.
“Ceiling’s really high with him,” Bailey said. “There’s a lot to love about the work ethic and the personality. Putting some structure behind the work, the daily focus and chipping one thing off at a time is gonna be huge. That’s what we’ll look to do. He’s a specimen, for sure.
“He’s hungry and I think Boston fans are going to fall in love with his competitiveness. His desire to win is what I’ve seen that’s just oozing out of him.”
Working in Oviedo’s favor is that the Red Sox are chasing upside in their No. 5 spot, according to Breslow, and might be willing to give the spot to a pitcher who still has development steps to take in the majors. That would also seem to bode well for Tolle, who has an intriguing pitch mix but just a year of professional outings under his belt.
“What we’ll be looking for is some level of consistency but also, I think that’s a chance to chase some upside, just given that we feel like those first four guys are going to keep us in series and keep us in games and give us a chance to win,” Breslow said last week. “Knowing that we do have some options for that fifth spot, let’s go ahead and get the guy that, if we realize the best outcomes there, has a chance to shut down an offense.”
The four non-Oviedo options in the mix are all promising as well. Early and Tolle, both 23, impressed in late-season big league cameos but might benefit from more development and can get that in Worcester’s rotation early in the season. Neither is a candidate for the big league bullpen. Sandoval could be traded or put in the bullpen to start the season but is now fully healthy and has experience, having logged 100 big league starts with the Angels before Tommy John. He, unlike the other candidates, does not have options remaining.
Crawford, too, remains in the mix but is behind the other candidates in his progression (the righty has not faced hitters yet) because a bout with the flu delayed his progress early in camp as he works his way back from knee and wrist injuries that cost him all of 2025. The Red Sox are being cautious enough with Crawford that he could start the year on the injured list — or on a prolonged rehab assignment — but haven’t forgotten about a pitcher who led the club with 33 starts two years ago and was an All-Star candidate after posting a 2.89 ERA in his first 11 starts of that year.
“Kutter made 30 starts for us and was one of the best starters for the first couple months of baseball in ‘24,” Bailey said. “We’re not super far removed from that. Obviously, he’s had his ups and downs but he’s really trending in the right direction.
“We also want to operate with some grace there and give him the space needed to work back to where we need him. He’s gonna help us at some point in time, whether it’s Day 1 or whatever. That’ll show its head when we need it.”
The Red Sox know that it’s far from likely that Crochet, Gray, Suárez and Bello will all remain healthy for the entirety of the season. If they don’t, there are plenty of options to assume roles. For now, though, there’s just one spot, meaning some quality big league options will begin the year pitching at Polar Park.
“There’s a lot (of guys) with options,” said Cora. “Where we’re at as an organization and a team, sometimes that plays into decisions. That’s what good teams do.”
Unlike last year, when the Red Sox were forced to insert non-roster invitee Sean Newcomb into their Opening Day rotation once it became clear Bello, Crawford and Lucas Giolito would miss Opening Day, the club is rich with depth. It’s a good problem to have — and one that will sort itself out in Grapefruit League play, which begins Saturday in Fort Myers.
“We’ve had a lot of movement in terms of acquisitions on the starting pitching side, but we also have some in-house options, two options that are going to come and help us at some point in time as well,” Bailey said. “It’s fun to have the amount of talent that we do have to compete for that No. 5 spot.”