Scorching-Hot Red Sox Veteran Making Strong Push For More Playing Time
Boston needs to find a way to get his bat into the lineup ASAP.
Scorching-Hot Red Sox Veteran Making Strong Push For More Playing Time originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The 2026 Boston Red Sox have an abundance of two things: starting pitchers and outfielders.
Pitching depth is important and should come in handy over the course of a long season, as pitchers tend to get hurt eventually . However, the outfield logjam is causing a real roster crunch for the Red Sox. That's because Boston has five outfielders for three outfield spots and the DH: Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida.
Every game, one of them has to start on the bench. Alex Cora's been doing his best to rotate them and get them fairly regular at-bats, but it's neither easy for him nor optimal for the Red Sox's lineup. Yoshida continues to prove he should be in the starting lineup every day for the foreseeable future.
Rocking an . 888 OPS to start 2026. Absolutely raking.