After many months of waiting, and even an extra day after they postponed it to today, Red Sox Opening Day is finally upon us.
The Red Sox are coming into 2021 flying quite under the radar, to say the least. They made countless additions, some big, some small. After a 2020 that was full of disappointments, many additions were needed.
Some say they’ll be as low as even 70 wins, and others think highly of the 2021 Red Sox, saying that they have a legit shot at competing, and will win even up to 90 games. With a very high floor, and a very high ceiling, it’ll be an interesting year to say the least.
In a year where the Red Sox are hoping to bounce back from a 24-36, they made an offseason splash;
They brought in:
- Manager Alex Cora
- P Garrett Whitlock (Rule 5)
- OF Hunter Renfroe (Signing)
- P Matt Andriese (Signing)
- IF/OF Kike Hernandez (Signing)
- P Garrett Richards (Signing)
- P Adam Ottavino (Trade)
- IF/OF Marwin Gonzalez (Signing)
- OF Franchy Cordero (Trade)
- Hirokazu Sawamura (Signing)
They also added a countless amount of minor leaguers, that would be too many to mention. Some of those players includes Michael Gettys, Danny Santana, and Mike McCarthy.
With all those additions, there was some key losses though too. Andrew Benintendi was dealt after a down year, Jackie Bradley Jr signed with the Brewers, and although somewhat expected, Dustin Pedroia retired.
Some other small but notable losses include Chris Mazza and Jeffrey Springs, who were dealt in a four-player-deal with the Rays. The return was two minor leaguers.
It was quite an offseason, and if the Red Sox are going to be playing in October, that’ll be one of the main reasons why.
After a promising Spring Training, where the Red Sox went 16-11, there were countless bright spots. Bobby Dalbec hit 7 HR’s, tied for the league lead in Spring, Michael Chavis who missed a roster spot hit 6 HR’s, newly acquired Garrett Whitlock was incredibly impressive, and so many other things.
Here is your Red Sox 2021 Opening Day Roster:
Starters: Nate Eovaldi, Martin Perez, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Richards, Tanner Houck
Relievers: Matt Andriese, Matt Barnes, Austin Brice, Phillips Valdez, Darwinzon Hernandez, Adam Ottavino, Hirokazu Sawamura, Josh Taylor, Garrett Whitlock
Infielders: Christian Arroyo, Xander Bogaerts, Bobby Dalbec, Rafael Devers
Utility Players: Kike Hernandez, Marwin Gonzalez
Catchers: Christian Vazquez, Kevin Plawecki
Outfielders: Franchy Cordero, JD Martinez, Hunter Renfroe, Alex Verdugo
Injured List: Ryan Brasier, Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez
Here were some takeaways from it that I had when it was released:
Christian Arroyo makes it over Michael Chavis, which Chavis has had a phenomenal spring hitting 6 home runs. Chavis had a down year in 2020 after an impressive rookie year in 2019.
Arroyo had an impressive 2020 after the Red Sox picked him up through the waiver wire from the Indians.
Phillips Valdez makes it over Colton Brewer. Valdez had a very impressive 2020, showing out to be by far the Red Sox best pitcher posting a 3.26 ERA. The 29 year old Valdez was signed during the offseason last year.
Rodriguez is on the IL with dead arm, and Brasier is on the IL with a strained calf.
Some notable names that are going to be in Worcester for the start of this season, that had a chance at the Opening Day Roster are Seabold, Wong, Chavis, Duran (who had an incredibly strong Spring Training), and Downs.
Some other guys who had a chance but missed the cut are Weber, Hart, Hall, Brewer, Feltman, Walden, Arauz, and Muñoz.
Here is your projected lineup, which happens to be the Opening Day Lineup:
- Kiké Hernández 2B
2. Alex Verdugo CF
3. J.D. Martinez LF
4. Xander Bogaerts SS
5. Rafael Devers 3B
6. Hunter Renfroe RF
7. Marwin Gonzalez LF
8. Christian Vázquez C
9. Bobby Dalbec 1B
No surprises here. This was a lineup one time during Spring Training, and it caught the attention of some to be the most commonly used lineup of the regular season. Here we are, and it’s the Opening Day lineup.
Many questions loom as will JD Martinez have a bounce back year? Can Rafael Devers avoid is common slow start to a season? Will Bobby Dalbec continue his 2020 and Spring success and win Rookie of the Year? How will the new additions add to the team? Is the pitching staff good enough?
The closer role is also not settled, after it looked like the decision would be made automatically when Barnes tested positive for COVID-19. That test was proven a false positive though, which released 8 players out of quarantine from contact tracing.
Right now the Red Sox are the worst out of the four Boston teams, and that’s comparing them to the struggling Celtics, inconsistent Bruins, and the Patriots who are coming off of a lackluster 7-9 season.
2021 will be an important year for the Boston Red Sox.
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