After winning 108 regular season games on their way to another 11 wins in the 2018 postseason, Alex Cora’s roster looks very much like the one he had for most of last season. In fact, the Opening Day roster includes only one player – Colten Brewer – who did not play for Boston last season. Spring training was, like last year, relatively quiet, and the Red Sox finished with 12 wins versus 17 losses and a tie. Perhaps the biggest news out of Fort Myers was a contract extension Boston gave to pitcher Chris Sale; the five-year, $145M payout ensures that he will stay with the team through 2024, unless he chooses to opt out after the 2022 season.

With the roster now final, let’s see who will be with the team in Seattle tonight when they start the season against the Mariners at T-Mobile Field (formally Safeco Field).

The Backstop

To almost no one’s surprise, the Red Sox chose not to go with three catchers to begin the season, and the odd man out was Sandy Leon, whom Boston placed on waivers Sunday. He cleared waivers Tuesday and he has until today to decide whether to accept an assignment in Triple-A Pawtucket or become a free agent. Thus, it will be Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart to begin the season. Vazquez remains the number one catcher on the depth chart, while Swihart offers utility options at nearly every position in the field.

The Infield

Dustin Pedroia, who missed all but three games last season, had hoped to make the Opening Day roster but will need extra time to rehab his surgically-repaired knee; this will be the second straight season he starts on the injured list (IL) (this term replaces the previously-used disabled list moniker). Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt will split time at second until he returns.

The star of the infield is undoubtedly Xander Bogaerts, who finished last season with a career-best .833 OPS and a 135 OPS+. Another player whose star continues to rise is Rafael Devers, who played his first full season in 2018 and is still only 22 years old. With Steve Pearce on the mend due to an injury late in spring training, Mitch Moreland and Sam Travis will split time at first base, with Moreland facing all right-handed pitching; Travis will like head back to Pawtucket once the World Series MVP is ready to return.

The Outfield

On a team filled with talent – MLB.com picked Boston’s lineup as the best in baseball entering the season – the one player who sticks out above everyone else is 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts. His WAR of 10.9 last season tied Ted Williams for the second-best single season mark in team history among position players, bested only by Carl Yastrzemski’s remarkable 1967 season.

Boston also features arguably the best outfield talent in baseball, split between Betts, AL batting champion J.D. Martinez, left fielder Andrew Benintendi, and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.; Martinez will most often get the start as the team’s DH as was the case in 2018.

The Starting Rotation

Boston’s rotation, picked as the fourth best by MLB.com, includes the aforementioned Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello, Nathan Eovaldi, and Eduardo Rodriguez. Dogged by his inability to win games in October, Price’s postseason run in 2018, including a victory in the deciding game of the World Series, quieted the critics and nearly earned him World Series MVP honors. Price’s first start will not be until Monday against Oakland to give him more time to recover from norovirus, which slowed him during spring training and limited him to only a handful of innings.

The Relief Corp

The bullpen appears to be the only question mark for the Red Sox entering the season. Two notable subtractions – closer Craig Kimbrel, who remains unsigned as the season begins, and Joe Kelly, who went to the Los Angeles Dodgers via free agency – have been left unresolved in the minds of many baseball analysts. Cora has stated that, to begin, Matt Barnes and Ryan Brasier will split duties as the go-to pitcher in the ninth. Rounding out the bullpen will be Brewer, Heath Hembree, Tyler Thornburg, Brian Johnson, Brandon Workman, and Hector Velazquez.

Boston enjoyed a relatively successful if rather low-key spring training. Basking in the warmth of the Florida sun at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers while New England enjoy four March Nor’easters, the Red Sox went 22-9-1, winning 14 of their last 15 and five of six against the Minnesota Twins to claim the Mayor’s Cup (if that is still a thing). With the roster now final, baseball begins for real today in Tampa Bay with the Red Sox in town for four against the Rays; let’s catch up on the state of the team as Opening Day dawns across the league.

The Outfield

One of the few new faces in the dugout is that of outfielder J.D. Martinez, who signed as a free agent early in spring training. With a solid outfield trio in Andrew Benintendi (LF), Jackie Bradley, Jr. (CF), and Mookie Betts (RF), Martinez will most likely see time as the team’s DH, but will get some opportunity to show off his glove. The seven-year veteran has a career split of .285/.342/.514 coupled with 152 home runs and a 130 OPS+. In 2017, he split time between Detroit and Arizona, pacing the latter with 29 home runs and a 1.107 OPS to lead the Diamondbacks to the postseason for the first time since 2011.

The Infield

The presence of Martinez means that last year’s primary DH, Hanley Ramirez, will move back to first base where he was stationed in 2016. This will result in less playing time for Mitch Moreland, who returns after a successful 2017 season as the primary DH. With Dustin Pedroia on the DL, Eduardo Nunez gets the Opening Day start at second base; this marks the first time since 2006 that the Muddy Chicken doesn’t have that honor for the Red Sox.

On the left side of the infield, Xander Bogaerts returns at shortstop, continuing some stability at the position for the first time since the days of Nomar Garciaparra, while 21-year-old Rafael Devers, in his second year with the club (he is ineligible for rookie status as he had more than 130 at-bats last season), gets the starting nod at third base. Brock Holt also returns in a utility role after Boston sent Deven Marrero to Arizona late in spring training.

The Backstop

In another move late in spring training, the Red Sox signed catcher Christian Vazquez to a three-year extension, signaling to everyone that he is the primary catcher moving forward with the club for the near future. That said, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart return as well; Leon should service as the backup catcher, while Swihart will serve more in a utility role and spend time in the outfield.

The Rotation

Chris Sale, David Price, and Rick Porcello are the easy choices for the first three spots; after that, it gets a little spotty. With Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez , and Drew Pomeranz all on the DL to begin the season, and with Wright further suspended 15 games for domestic violence stemming from an off-season incident, the back half of the rotation will be anchored by Brian Johnson and Hector Velazquez. Once healthy and after completing his suspension, Wright should be eligible to return to the roster by the end of April, while Rodriguez should be ready by mid-April; there is no timetable on Pomeranz’s return.

The Bullpen

The bullpen remains a key strength of this team heading into the season. Craig Kimbrel enjoyed a monster 2017 season and expectations are high for him again in 2018 despite missing most of spring training to attend to a family matter. Also returning is Carson Smith, who is finally healthy after just 11 appearances over the last two seasons, as well as Joe Kelly, Matt Barnes, and Heath Hembree. Also in the mix are two rookies: 2015 draft choice Bobby Poyner, who posted a 0.87 ERA over 10.1 innings pitcher in 10 appearances this spring, and 10-year minor league veteran Marcus Walden, who posted a 0.64 ERA over 14 IP in eight appearances.