The Boston Red Sox still have a month of spring training games and the World Baseball Classic between them and Opening Day, but Alex Cora is reportedly quite confident about how his team will line up on March 26 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Cora told Red Sox reporters in Fort Myers that his Sunday spring training lineup is what fans are "probably going to see on Opening Day." The lineup included Roman Anthony, Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu, Caleb Durbin, Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Narváez and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, in that order. Boston has already announced that Garrett Crochet will be the Opening Day starter.
This lineup all but confirms a few things that Red Sox fans had expected, including that Anthony will be the leadoff hitter. He logged a .396 OPB and 140 OPS+ in his first 71 games in the big leagues, including a rough spell at the plate to start his season.
The former top prospect thrived out of the leadoff spot last year. He batted .320/.370/.560 with a .930 OPS in 27 plate appearances as Boston's leadoff hitter. Anthony's unrivaled ability to get on base makes him the ideal candidate to open as many games as possible on a high note.
Alex Cora decided his leadoff hitter, third baseman and more in his likely Red Sox Opening Day lineup, previewed in Sunday's spring training game
The Sunday plan. pic.twitter.com/fbcHXyDBii
— Red Sox (@RedSox) February 22, 2026
In Cora's Opening Day preview lineup, Durbin suited up at third base and Kiner-Falefa at second. Marcelo Mayer did not start, which follows a recent statement from Cora that his spot on the Opening Day roster isn't guaranteed.
After a 2025 season during which Durbin qualified as a National League Rookie of the Year finalist, he's going to get priority at third base because of his more consistent bat unless something drastic changes for Mayer. Durbin batted .256/.334/.387 over 136 games last season while Mayer batted .228/.272/.402 in 44 games. Mayer's sample size is small since he suffered a season-ending wrist injury last season, but that only means there's room for improvement.
Despite Cora calling him "one of the best hitters on the team" earlier in February, Masataka Yoshida is not included in this Opening Day projection. It could be because he's already departed Fort Myers to join Team Japan on the West Coast to prepare for the WBC, but it's telling that the Red Sox didn't run the expected Opening Day lineup before he left.
It would be hard for Boston to justify playing Yoshida in the outfield, as Anthony, Duran, Abreu and Rafaela are all everyday players. Not only is Anthony already growing into the "face of the franchise"-type player the Red Sox knew he could be, but Cora has heaped praise onto Duran early — if it comes down to one of them against Yoshida for the DH spot on any given day, it's going to go to Anthony or Duran.
There is still nearly a month of spring training games remaining and plenty of playing time for under-the-radar players as many of Boston's starts will leave to appear in the WBC. Cora has a lot of time to change his mind before the Red Sox need to suit up at Great American Ballpark, but his Opening Day preview lineup from February 22 is probably close to what it'll be a month from now.