Alex Cora shouldn’t have many surprises up his sleeve when submitting the Boston Red Sox‘s Opening Day lineup card.
Boston’s lineup seems mostly set ahead of Thursday’s season-opening contest against the Cincinnati Reds. Garrett Crochet will take the rubber at Great American Ball Park, and the Reds will counter with fellow southpaw Andrew Abbott.
Opposing a left-handed pitcher creates one position of intrigue to watch in the Red Sox batting order. Here’s how Thursday’s starting lineup may look:
Roman Anthony, LFTrevor Story, SSJarren Duran, DHWillson Contreras, 1BWilyer Abreu, RFCaleb Durbin, 3BCeddanne Rafaela, CFCarlos Narváez, CIsiah Kiner-Falefa, 2B
Cora has already confirmed that Anthony will resume the leadoff role he occupied late last year. The 21-year-old will set the table after registering a .396 on-base percentage as a rookie.
Story is also locked into the No. 2 hole after collecting a team-high 25 home runs and 31 stolen bases last season. Duran should start and maintain a prominent lineup spot against a fellow lefty after swinging a sizzling bat in spring training and at the World Baseball Classic.
Each acquired in an offseason trade, Contreras and Durbin should make their Red Sox debuts. Cora said he likes the first baseman in the cleanup spot, and the versatile Durbin will handle a third-base spot vacated by Alex Bregman.
Abreu might have sat against Abbott last season, but the Red Sox want the reigning Gold Glove Award winner to earn a full-time role. It’s also more of a necessity after platoon specialist Rob Refsnyder joined the Seattle Mariners and Romy Gonzalez underwent shoulder surgery.
Narváez should catch for Crochet on Thursday following a breakout rookie campaign. Rafaela spent some time at second base late last season, but the 25-year-old is expected to focus exclusively on center field.
That leaves second base as the biggest uncertainty. Although Marcelo Mayer won the starting job, there’s a strong chance he’s relegated to a platoon.
Cora could start Kiner-Falefa or Andruw Monasterio instead. Monasterio notched an .837 OPS against lefties for the Milwaukee Brewers last season, but Kiner-Falefa’s defense will help an infield that committed an MLB-worst 116 errors last season.
Boston’s Opening Day game against the Reds starts Thursday at 4:10 p.m. ET on NESN.
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