Red Sox Insider Reveals Rotation Spot Is Johan Oviedo’s ‘To Lose’ originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox are expected to have Johan Oviedo as the team’s fifth starter to begin the 2026 MLB season.
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Boston added Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez to bolster its rotation to pair with Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello. Yet, the fifth spot in the rotation is up in the air and one of the team’s most intriguing spring training battles.
The Red Sox acquired Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason to compete for the job, alongside Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kutter Crawford, and Patrick Sandoval. Yet, Crawford and Sandoval are expected to begin the year on the IL, so Red Sox insider Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic predicts Oviedo will win the final rotation spot.
“The Red Sox may very well have the best rotation in baseball,” McCaffrey wrote. “FanGraphs projects the group to post a major-league best 18.1 fWAR in 2026. Barring injuries, Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suárez, Sonny Gray, and Brayan Bello will be the top four starters, though the order after Crochet has not yet been announced. The bigger question is who’ll be the fifth starter.
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“Cora has said the team will not use a six-man rotation, and the Red Sox would like Connelly Early and Payton Tolle to continue developing at Triple-A Worcester. There’s still a chance one of them could push for the fifth spot, which appears to be Johan Oviedo’s to lose for now.”
Although Oviedo is predicted to land the final rotation spot, McCaffrey believes that is not permanent. Instead, the right-hander will have to be much better in the regular season than he has in spring training to hold onto the job.
Oviedo went 2-1 with a 3.57 ERA in nine starts with the Pirates last season.
Boston will open its MLB season on March 26 against the Cincinnati Reds.
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