The Opening Day lineup for the 2026 Boston Red Sox has been a topic of discussion since the final out of the Wild Card round in 2025. It was always going to look a bit different from Opening Day 2025 after the events of the season, but fans had hoped that it would look mostly the same.
As Red Sox Nation knows now, it looks a bit different, for better or for worse. The only change among the outfielders is the addition of Roman Anthony for the entire season, a major boost to an already strong unit. The infield, though, will see only one holdover from the previous season, Trevor Story, with at least two new additions to the organization, a player who started 2025 in the minors, and Carlos Narváez representing the other four.
Despite the massive amount of turnover for a team that made the playoffs, the lineup isn't in bad shape. New additions Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin have play styles that fit Fenway very well, all four outfielders expect to take steps forward again, and the team has depth in the organization that hasn't been there in recent years. ESPN's Bradford Doolittle doesn't agree, though.
The Red Sox lineup is being criminally underrated
In his "2026 MLB lineup rankings: Which teams have the best bats" article for ESPN, he placed the Sox in a lowly 19th place, behind teams like the Twins (18th) and Royals (14th), which comes as a major slap in the face.
While the raw talent of the Twins could place them inside the top 10, they are marred by injury every year. Doolittle also has Josh Bell (0.4 bWAR), Victor Caratini (0.9), Matt Wallner (0.6), and Trevor Larnach (0.1), who combined for 2.0 WAR last season in their starting lineup. Only one player in the Sox projected lineup (Marcelo Mayer) had less than 2.0 bWAR last season.
The Royals are in a similar spot to the Sox, with a lot of young talent, but certainly don't have a better overall lineup. They have the best player between the two teams, Bobby Witt Jr., but Boston stacks up across the board.
The Royals are relying on a good season from two rookies, Jac Caglione and Carter Jensen, need a major bounce back from Jonathan India, and are likely starting Kyle Isbel, who is a career 83 OPS+. They are hoping Maikel Garcia doesn't step back to the 1.1 WAR, 80 OPS+ player he was the previous two seasons, all while needing soon-to-be 36-year-old Salvador Perez to not regress from the 100 OPS+ he was last season.
It feels like the Red Sox are being criminally underrated heading into 2026. Even if they lack the pop they've had in the past, they made smart additions this offseason for players who are set up for success in Boston. On paper, the names might not wow, but once the season rolls around, this team will be able to hold up across 162.