The upcoming World Baseball Classic will be packed with Boston Red Sox players. While fans will love to see their favorites represent their home countries, the tournament leaves spring training feeling a bit empty.
Minor league players and top prospects will step in to fill their Grapefuit League roster spots, and Red Sox fans will get a chance to see some talent they normally wouldn't. On March 2, that will be top prospect Franklin Arias.
Arias will bat ninth and man shortstop in Boston's afternoon spring training tilt with the Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. The 20-year-old spent much of the 2025 season in High-A Greenville with just 10 games with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs to finish out the year — this spring training game could be the first time many fans see Arias play.
Much of the Red Sox's infield will remain in camp, not participating in the WBC. But Willson Contreras will suit up for Venezuela (also Arias' home country), and since Triston Casas is injured, Boston will have to get creative with its infield alignments. Nick Sogard will man the corner on March 2 and Isiah Kiner-Falefa got reps at first base the day before, leaving middle infield spots open.
Top Red Sox prospect Franklin Arias will start Monday's spring training game at shortstop
Arias, 20, is Boston's No. 2 prospect behind Payton Tolle (according to MLB Pipeline), and some prospect evaluators have raved about him in the past. Keith Law of The Athletic has been high on Arias for quite some time — he named him the Sox's No. 1 prospect this season, No. 12 in MLB for 2026, and he ranked No. 8 in his 2025 midseason top-50 list (subscription required).
Arias batted .265/.329/.380 with a .709 OPS over 87 games in High-A, and he racked up 12 hits, including two doubles and two homers, four runs and eight RBI over 10 games in Double-A. His eye for the strike zone is one of his greatest strengths, as he struck out just 35 times in Greenville. He's also a great defender for his age (Law ranks him around a 55) with plenty of room for his game and his frame to grow.
Manager Alex Cora embraced a minor league-heavy lineup for Monday's game, including Mickey Gasper, Tyler McDonough, Allan Castro, Max Ferguson and Braiden Ward. Kiner-Falefa, Marcelo Mayer, Caleb Durbin and Trevor Story all remain in camp, so Arias will have to compete with them for infield starts. But when they have days off or in the late innings of games, fans could see more of the top prospect in Grapefruit League action.