{"id":484774,"date":"2026-02-23T01:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T01:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/484774\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T01:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T01:07:10","slug":"alex-cora-gives-an-early-preview-of-red-sox-2026-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/484774\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Cora gives an early preview of Red Sox 2026 lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBoston Red Sox\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t“It just happened that for the first time in years what you see early is what you\u2019re probably going to see on Opening Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Boston
\n\tRoman Anthony and Trevor Story are expected to bat first and second in Boston’s order. (Photo by: Barry Chin\/Globe Staff)\t<\/p>\n

The Red Sox won\u2019t officially open the 2026 MLB season until March 26 in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

But on Sunday, manager Alex Cora seemed to paint a pretty clear picture as to what Boston\u2019s Opening Day lineup might look like \u2014 as the Red Sox\u2019 spring-training bout against the Blue Jays had several key fixtures in place.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at Boston\u2019s lineup from its eventual 11-10 win over Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roman Anthony DH<\/p>\n

Trevor Story SS<\/p>\n

Jarren Duran LF<\/p>\n

Willson Contreras 1B<\/p>\n

Wilyer Abreu RF<\/p>\n

Caleb Durbin 3B<\/p>\n

Ceddanne Rafaela CF<\/p>\n

Carlos Narv\u00e1ez C<\/p>\n

Isiah Kiner-Falefa 2B<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to win this league [Grapefruit League] so I just felt that\u2019s a good way to set it up,\u201d Cora told MassLive\u2019s Chris Smith on Sunday.<\/a> \u201cBut yeah, it\u2019s something I envision. And it just happened that for the first time in years what you see early is what you\u2019re probably going to see on Opening Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cora announced earlier this weekend that Anthony would be Boston\u2019s leadoff hitter to open the 2026 campaign.<\/a><\/p>\n

Anthony hit leadoff in 27 of his final 32 games with Boston before suffering a season-ending oblique injury in September 2025. In those games where Anthony batted leadoff, the 21-year-old star batted .336 with six home runs, 17 RBIs, and a 1.003 OPS.<\/p>\n

Beyond his strong hit tools, Anthony\u2019s plate discipline should also help set the table for the rest of Boston\u2019s order.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next man up seems to be shortstop Trevor Story in the No. 2 hole.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Story was arguably Boston\u2019s most consistent hitter last season, batting .263 with 25 home runs and 96 RBI. He has the pop to plate Anthony, although his plate discipline and swing-first approach (.308) does make him an intriguing choice to put in such a feature role in the order.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Cora believes that Story should be able to consistently plate runners being pushed so far up in the lineup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he did last year, the last three months, he was one of the best hitters in the big leagues,\u201d Cora told Smith. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not about earning or he deserves whatever. But the guy stole 30 bags, he drove in 90-something runs, hit 20-something homers. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was amazing hitting the ball the other way. And if that\u2019s the case, he\u2019s going to be surrounded by lefties, which at one point, they\u2019re probably going to bring a lefty for Roman. He\u2019ll face a lefty and he can cash in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston\u2019s first six batters in the lineup all alternate between lefties and righties, with three left-handed hitters in Rafaela, Naravaez, and free-agent pickup Isiah Kiner-Falefa rounding out the order.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While there aren\u2019t many surprises in this projected lineup, Kiner-Falefa \u2014 known more as a versatile defensive option off the bench \u2014 over blue-chip talent Marcelo Mayer is worth noting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though Mayer has seen a majority of his infield reps during spring training at second base, Cora noted earlier this weekend that Mayer will not outright earn a spot on Boston\u2019s Opening-Day roster.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Marcelo, like I said yesterday or two days ago, we\u2019ll give him the baton, but he has to run,\u201d Cora told MassLive\u2019s Sean McAdam<\/a>. \u201cYou know, if he wants to be the starting second baseman in Cincinnati , there\u2019s a lot of work to do. It\u2019s not a given that he\u2019s second baseman or third baseman for this team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things that he needs to show us this spring, and we expect him to do that because he\u2019s that talented, but at the same time, there\u2019s a lot of guys here that can do the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayer is still considered one of Boston\u2019s top prospects after getting drafted fourth overall in the 2021 MLB Entry Draft. But the 23-year-old infielder has dealt with injuries over the last few years in the minors, and batted just .228 with four home runs in 44 games with Boston in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t great offensively last year,\u201d Cora told McAdam. \u201cHe\u2019ll be the first one to tell you that. Defensively, he was excellent. Base-running wise, he\u2019s really good. But offensively, there\u2019s more. We know that, but he has to show he can handle this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.<\/p>\n

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