Red Sox announce Opening Day roster for 2026
The Boston Red Sox have announced their Opening Day roster for the 2026 MLB season, as well as their initial starting rotation.
Mar 3, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA; The Boston Red Sox line up for pregame ceremonies before an exhibition game against Puerto Rico at jetBlue park.
Jim Rassol-Imagn ImagesBaseball season is right around the corner, with the league opening things up on Wednesday night. The Boston Red Sox don't open until Thursday, but ahead of the first game the team announced its Opening Day roster on Wednesday afternoon.
The initial roster for the Red Sox is made up of 13 pitchers and 13 hitters. Those starting the season with the big league squad are...
Starting Pitchers: Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Connelly Early, Ranger Suarez, Brayan Bello
Bullpen: Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, Danny Coulombe, Jovani Morán, Ryan Watson, Johan Oviedo
Catchers: Carlos Narvaez, Connor Wong
Infielders: Willson Contreras, Marcelo Mayer, Trevor Story, Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Outfielders: Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshia
In order to get the roster down to 26 players, the Sox placed six players on various injured lists. Infielders Triston Casas and Anthony Seigler will officially open on the 10-day IL, and pitchers Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval will open on the 15-day list. Pitcher Tanner Houck and utility player Romy Gonzalez will begin the season on the 60-day IL.
On top of setting their roster, the Red Sox also lined up their starting rotation for the beginning of the season. After Crochet starts the opener, Sonny Gray and Connelly Early will finish up the opening three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds according to MLB.com.
That will give Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello - who both pitched in the World Baseball Classic - a little more time to get ready for regular season action. They'll pitch the first two games of the second series of the year respectively, when the Red Sox visit the Houston Astros.
With the roster set, it's just about time for Opening Day. The Red Sox take on the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday afternoon to begin the 2026 season, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET.
