Red Sox Roster Projection: Johan Oviedo leads No. 5 race, Patrick Sandoval's role, Mikey Romero stock rising

Red Sox spring training is fully underway, with Grapefruit League games taking place. There hasn’t been much in terms of storylines at the beginning of this camp, unlike last February. 

The World Baseball Classic will disrupt the spring for the entire league, with top players around baseball taking part in the tournament. The Red Sox will see 13 members of their 40-man roster leave camp to play for their respective teams.

As Opening Day continues to inch closer, the Red Sox roster is relatively complete.

“It’s a different camp. It’s not that we’re 100% sure who’s going to Cincinnati, but it’s close,” manager Alex Cora said recently to reporters in Fort Myers. “It’s just a matter of how we’re going to do it.”

Here’s a look at what the Red Sox’ 26-man roster could look like on March 26, when Boston begins the season on the road in Cincinnati.

STARTING PITCHERS (5):

LHP Garrett Crochet, LHP Ranger Suárez, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Brayan Bello, RHP Johan Oviedo

It goes without saying that Crochet, Suárez, Gray, and Bello are going to occupy the first four spots in the rotation. The Red Sox completely changed the landscape of their rotation from a year ago, adding Suárez in free agency and Gray and Oviedo in trades.

There’s competition in camp for the final spot in the rotation, with Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, and Patrick Sandoval all attempting to become the No. 5 starter.

For now, Oviedo is in the driver’s seat to land that final spot. He made his spring debut on Wednesday and looked slightly erratic. He faced nine batters and threw eight first-pitch strikes. Despite that, he walked three batters, and 15 of his 33 pitches (45%) were strikes.

“I was getting ahead strike one, but after strike one I was kind of losing it a little bit,” Oviedo said.

Oviedo allowed one hit and struck out one in 1 2/3 innings.

“Not the worst, but definitely not the best,” Oviedo added.

Cora told reporters after the outing that Oviedo was “erratic. But good stuff. We have work to do. But it’s good for him to get his innings in and move on.”

Oviedo fits the theme the Red Sox have focused on when adding pitchers. He offers big-time extension — 7.4 feet last season, which ranked in the 98th percentile, according to Statcast.

“That’s one of the things we’ve focused on besides getting ahead — just using my strong body toward home plate and using all that force I can create,” Oviedo said. “That’s going to be the rest of the spring. That’s one of the things we’re going to keep pushing.”

Oviedo came over from the Pirates in early December after posting a 3.57 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 42 strikeouts, and 23 walks in 40 1/3 innings last season. He missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. A portion of his 2025 was disrupted due to a lat strain.

Oviedo’s 15 fastballs vs. the Twins averaged 94.3 mph. That’s down from his 95.5 mph average last season.

“We’ve still got about a month left. My main focus is not velo. It’s commanding all the pitches and making sure they’re sharp,” he said. “Quality pitches are what I’m looking for right now. Make sure the slider’s there, the cutter’s there, the curveball’s there, the changeup’s there. Velocity — it’s going to be there no matter what.”

If Oviedo fails to win the No. 5 spot, the Sox could option him to Triple-A Worcester to keep him stretched out. Crawford is behind in terms of facing live hitters, and it’s becoming likely he starts the season on the injured list. Sandoval is an option and has been facing live hitters. Boston could move Sandoval to the bullpen to begin the season or possibly flip him in a trade to a club in need of pitching depth.

Maybe the Braves are a match after losing Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep. Atlanta is also down righty AJ Smith-Shawver, who is expected to miss the entire season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

It seems the Red Sox are content with Early and Tolle starting the year in the Triple-A rotation as ready-made fill-in options, but a strong camp from either could shake things up. Newly acquired Jake Bennett has had a strong camp and dialed up his fastball to 97 mph on Wednesday. He’s an option to debut at some point this season.

For now, Oviedo is the favorite to win the No. 5 spot — mainly due to health — unless someone else pops before the end of camp.

RELIEVERS (8):

LHP Aroldis Chapman, RHP Garrett Whitlock, RHP Justin Slaten, RHP Greg Weissert, RHP Zack Kelly, RHP Ryan Watson, LHP Jovani Morán, LHP Patrick Sandoval

Chapman and Whitlock are locks for the back end of the bullpen, with Slaten, Weissert, and Kelly as right-handed options. Watson is a Rule 5 pick who must remain on the 26-man roster all season. The left-handed side of the bullpen is the bigger question mark.

Morán is a strong bet to make the team and is out of options. Tyler Samaniego has been dealing with a minor back issue, keeping him out of action. Sandoval is a logical in-house candidate for the bullpen. There’s a chance he could start the year on the IL, allowing the Sox to delay a final decision.

Kyle Keller, Tayron Guerrero, Seth Martinez, Alec Gamboa, and Noah Song are possibilities to help the bullpen this season. Boston would benefit from adding a veteran free agent, but Craig Breslow hasn’t added anyone and has stated he’s comfortable with the left-handed options in camp.

CATCHERS (2):

Carlos Narváez, Connor Wong

Narváez is the starter, and Wong appears to be the backup — at least for now. Matt Thaiss has major league experience and could push Wong. If not, he’ll head to Worcester along with Jason Delay and Mickey Gasper.

INFIELDERS (6):