Red Sox Predictions: Boston’s starting lineup for Opening Day 2020
Red Sox baseball makes its 2020 debut
After months of back and forth between the owners and players, we’re finally set for baseball to make its return in 2020. At times it felt like the season was on the brink of being canceled and other as if it could start in a week’s time. For three months the two sides battled it out until an agreement was finally reached Monday evening. So what does 2020 look like for the Red Sox?
As we all know, Boston was very active this offseason. Between trades, designations, and free-agent bargain hunting, Chaim Bloom and his team put in some work. The most glaring absence from the Red Sox this season will be the enigmatic superstar, Mookie Betts.
The former AL MVP now calls Hollywood his home as Bloom sent him as well as David Price to the Dodgers for a haul of promising prospects. Though it was clear that Betts would be testing free agency come 2021, it’s still hard to imagine the Red Sox without him in the lineup. We must though as it’s the sad reality that we have to come to terms with.
So what exactly will the Red Sox lineup look like when July 23rd rolls around for Opening Day?
Red Sox Outfield
Left Field: This one is very easy to predict. Obviously Andrew Benintendi is going to be a lock in left field. The defensive wizard is becoming one of the absolute best left-fielders in the game today and gets better with each season. His only downfall is at the plate where he can be streaky at times.
With Betts now long gone, it’ll be up to Benny Biceps to fill in the vacancy in the lead-off spot. We saw how that experiment worked in 2019, but with an entire offseason to prepare for it, I feel he could really succeed.
Center Field: we’ll most likely be seeing Jackie Bradley Jr. Again, this feels like as much of a guarantee as there can be for a player in a position. Much like Betts, JBJ is in the final year of his current contract and it’s hard to imagine the Red Sox extending his stay in Boston.
For the last few years, his name was probably the most talked about in trade whispers with no deals ever coming to fruition. Jackie will be looking to have a strong effort in the shortened season to maximize his earning potential for 2021 and beyond.
Right Field: This is where I may be set apart from some of the others out there trying to figure out what Ron Roenicke’s lineup will look like. For me, this is when we call upon the recently signed Kevin Pillar. Oddly enough, he’s also set for free agency next winter so this is a big year for the outfielder to make some waves.
Most would expect to see Alex Verdugo’s name in this slot but I’m not sure how his back is healing since the shutdown. When camp was still open back in March we heard about how he was taking swings and that things looked all clear on the injury front.
That was three months ago though and we haven’t heard much from either the young outfielder or the Red Sox on his progress since everyone was sent home. PIllar is the safe bet here.
Red Sox Infield
First Base: I’ve got Mitch Moreland penciled in here in what shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Red Sox re-signed the veteran first baseman this past winter and also have an option for his services in 2021 as well. They wouldn’t have gone out and brought Mitchy Two-Bags back just to be a bench player. He’ll likely get the lion’s share of the starts while mentoring Michael Chavis and Bobby Dalbec to be his successors.
Second Base: This one I’m incredibly torn on as I’m not sure where Roenicke is going to go. We have the newly signed Jose Peraza, who is beyond talented at the position and has the speed to match. But on the other hand, Michael Chavis more than proved himself at second last year, especially considering he’d never played the position before. With little competition for the spot and Dustin Pedroia likely not returning.
have zero ideas where this one goes. If I had to pick, and I do since I’m writing this, I go with Chavis.
Shortstop: Again, this is a no-brainer. You’ve got one of the best shortstops in the league today in Xander Bogaerts holding down the fort on the left side of the infield. With his nice new contract extension, Bogey will be with the Red Sox through his prime.
He’s become a big brother of sorts to the guy I’m about to talk about and is a veteran voice on this team. I think it’s safe to say we’ll be seeing Xander’s name in the shortstop slot of the lineup card for the foreseeable future.
Third Base: As I mentioned above, this is where the kid comes into play, Rafael Devers. Though he’s in his early 20s, he plays the game like we all did when we were kids. He wants to smash the ball to the moon, run as fast as he can, and get dirty making plays. Whether the Red Sox are getting crushed or are up by a dozen, he gives it his all.
The giant smile that seems impossible to remove from his face is beyond contagious. It’s hard not to love watching Devers play, especially as he enters the best years of his career, and is coming off of a monster year in 2019.
Red Sox Catcher
Ya know how I’ve used the phrase, “no-brainer,” a few times above? Yeah, this is one of those cases again. Christian Vazquez has become an absolute rock for the Red Sox and will be exactly that for Ron Roenicke this season. After years of rotating with Sandy Leon and even Blake Swihart, 2019 was the breakout campaign for Vazqy.
With the job solely in his possession he surpassed any and all expectations Red Sox Nation had for him. The man hit more homers in 2019 than he had in his entire career to that point!
Not to forget, his fielding is some of the best behind the dish not just the AL, but the entire MLB. Vazquez is as reliable as it comes when he’s behind the plate, not just in how he manages his pitching staff but when it comes to runners on base.
Up until 2019, his offense had been his Achilles’ heel but that seems to have gone away now. The big question will be if it was just a surge due to becoming the everyday catcher or if that’s what we can come to expect from him. I’d like to think its more of the latter and less of the former, but only time will tell. One thing’s for sure, I’m excited as hell to see what Vazqy can do in 2020.
Red Sox Designated Hitter
The man, the myth, the legend, J.D. Martinez. Ladies and Gentleman this is one of the best hitters to grace a batter’s box in some time. Not just for what he does while at the plate, but for what he does before and after as well. Martinez is constantly taking notes on pitchers that he’s faced, working on his timing, and watching his own batting practice to see his mechanics.
It took the Red Sox a few years to find someone that could fill the massive shoes of David Ortiz when it came to the DH, and they’ve got that guy in J.D. Sadly, as great as his time in Boston has been, his days are likely numbered.
2020 will give fans the first glimpses into the universal DH as both leagues will now offer the position. This rule was initially included for 2021 but in the final agreement was only instituted for 2020.
He has the ability to opt-out of his contract after both 2020 and 2021, meaning he can walk once the season ends. If the Red Sox have another miserable campaign he very well may test the waters of free agency not that he can ply his trade in the NL without needing to play in the field.
I’m hoping Chaim Bloom can restructure his deal and keep J.D. with Boston for the longterm as the slugger has made it clear he wants to stay, but money is tight in Beantown right now.
If Martinez decides to walk, that’s his right and I can’t hold it against him. I can, however, hold it against Dave Dombrowski for putting those clauses in his contract. What a dummy. It took the Red Sox a handful of years to find their next DH, and it could take even longer now that the NL is about to add the position.
Red Sox 2020 and beyond
I’m not going to pretend like I have some grand vision into the future, I don’t. This year is going to be weird as hell with it going to essentially be a mad dash to the postseason. With only 60 games on the schedule, the Red Sox won’t be afforded any time to stumble out of the gates. They need to hit the ground running and gain as much ground as they can before September comes. One bad week and they can find themselves at the bottom of the standings already looking towards 2021.
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As you read through this lineup prediction I’m sure you weren’t shocked at my choices, and you shouldn’t have been. Boston has done a phenomenal job with grooming their talent and having guys on the roster that you don’t even need to think about. There are some wild cards in there though in Pillar, Peraza, Chavis, and Verdugo but for the most part, they’re pretty set. I could’ve gotten real weird and tossed in a bunch of prospects to fill in the lineup card, but that would’ve made zero sense.
For the future, this team is going to be looking a lot different when they show up to camp in 2021. Boston has an insane number of potential free agents when next winter rolls around and Chaim Bloom will have his hands pretty damn full. He’s built a career on saving money while developing young talent to become stars, that’s what I expect him to do. He’ll get some free agents and may re-sign some guys, but he won’t be splashing Dombrowski levels of cash.
Next. Short season leads to complicated deadline. dark
A shortened season bodes well for the Red Sox though as their offense should once again be at the top of the league, the pitching will need to hold up its end of the bargain though. We all saw how well that went in 2019, hopefully, 2020 isn’t a re-run. This team is filled with talent from top to bottom, it’s just a matter of realizing and maximizing it. With a lineup as stacked as Boston’s, we should be seeing another Commissioner’s Trophy heading to Fenway soon.