March 18, 2025
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Jordan Westburg's two-run homer (4)

Red Sox Opening Day Secret Revealed?

Most Major League players will tell you that spring training numbers don’t really mean that much.

But spring training lineups can say quite a bit.

Jordan Westburg's two-run homer (4)

The Boston Red Sox had split squad games on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves. The starting 9 that faced the Orioles looked an awful lot like what most project the Red Sox to have facing the Texas Rangers March 27 on opening day.

Which made the inclusion of Kristian Campbell at second base all the more noticeable.

Jordan Westburg's two-run homer (4)

“Red Sox badly want Kristian Campbell to be on the OD roster,” Boston sports radio personality Tyler Milliken posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Katie Manganelli of BoSox Injection, the Red Sox-focused news site powered by FanSided, agreed with that assessment, stating, “(t)he Boston Red Sox may be playing their Opening Day lineup.”

Jordan Westburg's two-run homer (4)

“On March 16, Ian Browne of MLB.com posted a quote from Alex Cora about Boston’s top prospects’ chances of making the Opening Day roster,” Manganelli continued to write. “The manager stated that Campbell, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer will begin the season where they’ll have an everyday role in the lineup. Since Campbell is slotted in at second base alongside the likely big league squad, there seems to be a good chance he’ll land on the Opening Day roster.”

Jordan Westburg's two-run homer (4)

The debate over who should start at second base for Boston has been going on since spring training began. The other candidates for the role, David Hamilton and Vaughn Grissom, were in the lineup against Atlanta at shortstop and second base, respectively.

As of March 16, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that no decision had been made as to who will be named the starter.

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