What to know about the Boston Red Sox on MLB Opening Day 2025
A new Red Sox season is upon us, with Boston opening the 2025 campaign with a lot of hope and optimism. It has been three years since the Red Sox played October baseball, and the team is determined to end its postseason drought come the fall.
An 81-81 season in 2024 was a step in the right direction for Alex Cora's club, but this year's team seems poised for much bigger and better things. Cora has said 2025 is "all about winning," and baring catastrophic injury issues, another playoff-less season will not be acceptable for anyone on the team. (Or the paying customers in the stands.)
After adding a legitimate ace in Garrett Crochet and a veteran bat and leader in Alex Bregman in the offseason, Boston is not just ready to compete for a playoff spot. The Red Sox want to show that they're back to being true contenders for a World Series.
It all starts Thursday when the team plays the first of 162 games of the 2025 regular season.
When is Red Sox Opening Day?
Boston opens its season on the road for a second straight year, this time with a tilt against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
Red Sox Opening Day lineup
We have our first lineup of the season, and it's the same one the Red Sox trotted out for their final Grapefruit League game on Sunday:
1. Jarren Duran, LF
2. Rafael Devers, DH
3. Alex Bregman, 3B
4. Triston Casas, 1B
5. Trevor Story, SS
6. Kristian Campbell, 2B
7. Wilyer Abreu, RF
8. Connor Wong, C
9. Ceddanne Rafaela, CF
-- Garrett Crochet, SP
The Boston offense didn't have much trouble scoring runs in 2024, crossing the plate 751 times to rank ninth in baseball and third in the AL. This year's offense could be even better with Bregman in the mix and a healthy Devers and Story.
Duran was one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball on his way to a breakout, All-Star season. There could some regression after he finished his absurd 2024 season with 8.7 WAR, but he should once again set the tone for what could be a great offense.
Devers is going to be the team's DH (Cora said so definitively on Wednesday) despite his desire to remain at third, but his focus will be on having a bigger 2025 season than what he gave Boston last year. Devers still hit 28 homers and drove in 83 runs despite battling multiple shoulder injuries, but he needs to be closer to 35 dingers and over 100 RBI now that he's a DH.
Bregman in the three-hole breaks up the lefty bats of Devers and Casas and gives Boston a dangerous, veteran hitter in the heart of the lineup. Bregman should put a lot of dents in the Green Monster too with his 1.240 career OPS at Fenway Park.
This is a big year for Casas, who missed most of last season with a rib injury. The Red Sox are going to need him to provide plenty of pop and drive in a lot of runs out of the cleanup spot. Most importantly, he needs to play every day.
Story is still looking to have a healthy season for the Red Sox, and maybe the fourth time is the charm. He'd give the team a valuable bat in the lineup, but his glove at shortstop is even more important to the team's success.
Campbell is the first of Boston's "Big Three" of prospects to make it to the Majors and earned his spot on the Major League roster by becoming a much better defensive player throughout the spring. His bat was mostly quiet in Fort Myers, but that should come at some point. The kid puts in the work and is a fast learner, which we saw last season as he quickly rose through Boston's minor league system.
At 22 years, 272 days old, Campbell is the youngest Red Sox player to make their MLB debut in the Opening Day starting lineup since Joe Lahoud (20 years, 363 days) in 1968.
Abreu is coming off a Gold Glove season in right for Boston. His bat was still pretty good too, as he slashed .253/.322/.458 while driving in 58 runs and scoring 59 himself. Abreu should be even better in his second full MLB season.
Wong has a steady bat though he struggled in the second half of last season. But he put in a lot of work this spring on becoming a better defensive catcher.
Rounding out the lineup is Rafaela, who needs to cut down on his K's (he struck out 151 times to just 15 walks last year) in his second season. But he only fanned four times in 44 plate appearances this spring while drawing six walks, and could be ready to really break out in 2025. And he will provide plenty of incredible catches in the outfield along the way.
Red Sox-Rangers MLB Opening Day pitching matchup
Crochet will make his Red Sox debut in Texas in what will be his second straight Opening Day start. He's just changing the color of his socks after he was on the bump for the Chicago White Sox last year at this time.
Crochet is one filthy pitcher, a bulldog who wants to sit down anyone who makes their way to the plate. He's an imposing figure on the mound at 6-foot-6 and throws some serious heat, consistently flirting with triple digits on the radar gun. He's the ace the Red Sox have needed for years.
On Thursday, he'll be opposed by former Red Sox World Series hero Nathan Eovaldi, who has won 24 games (plus another ring) over the last two seasons with Texas.
Red Sox bullpen
The Boston bullpen should be much better than it was last season, when the Red Sox blew 27 saves -- tied for the fourth-most in baseball. Sixteen of those blown saves came after the All-Star break, which completely derailed the team's playoff push.
The closer spot is still a bit of a question mark, with flamethrower Aroldis Chapman getting the job to least to start the season. He hasn't been a dominant closer in years, and may be on a short leash in the ninth inning.
Liam Hendriks would be next in line to close games should Chapman falter, but he is starting the year on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation.
Cooper Criswell, Zack Kelly, Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten, and Garrett Whitlock will be Cora's righty relievers, while Justin Wilson and Brennan Bernardino will be the southpaws out of the pen.
Red Sox World Series odds
There is hope for every MLB team at this point in the season, but the Red Sox have improved their odds the most of any team since last October. The Red Sox had 40-to-1 odds to win it all in 2025 immediately after the Dodgers won last year, but enter the season with 16-to-1 odds, according to BetOnline. That's the biggest rise of any team, and is tied for the fourth-best odds in all of baseball. (The Dodgers are the favorites at 9-to-4 odds.)
The Red Sox have 7-to-1 odds to win the AL pennant, behind only the Yankees (4-to-1) and the Orioles (13-to-2), and the second-best odds to win the AL East (9-to-4) behind only the Yankees (7-to-4).
It's not just the oddsmakers that like the Sox this year, either. ESPN has picked Boston to win both the AL East and the American League pennant, before losing to Mookie Betts and the Dodgers.
When will the Red Sox open at Fenway Park?
After opening the season with a four-game series in Texas, the Red Sox will head to Baltimore for three games against the Orioles. Then they'll finally make their way home to Fenway Park.
The Red Sox will have their home opener on Friday, April 4 when they welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to Boston for a three-game set. It's the start of a seven-game homestand, with the Blue Jays in town for four games from April 7-10.
