With less than a month to go before pitchers and catchers report, the Red Sox roster is rounding into form. Though a few more additions are still possible, we now have a clear enough picture to make an informed guess as to who will eventually comprise the Opening Day roster.

Things can always change, but here’s our latest Red Sox roster projection for the 2025 season.

MLB: Garrett Crochet (L), Tanner Houck, Walker Buehler, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Kutter Crawford

MiLB depth: Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts, Quinn Priester (L)

60-day IL: Patrick Sandoval (L)

For the first time in recent memory the Red Sox have real, legitimate depth in their starting rotation. So much depth, in fact, that the club currently has more starters than it can realistically accommodate in a traditional five-man set-up. So barring any injuries the club is likely to carry all six of its established big leaguers on the active roster, with Fitts, Priester and Dobbins all available in Triple-A and Cooper Criswell an option to fill in as well.

How will that work? The Red Sox could opt for a six-man rotation or it could use a piggyback strategy where two starters always pitch on the same day. But that would be a great problem for the Red Sox to have, because given the way injuries happen with pitchers these days, it would mean the club made it to Opening Day with all six starters available.

MLB: Liam Hendriks, Aroldis Chapman (L), Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Wilson (L), Greg Weissert, Cooper Criswell

MiLB depth: Brennan Bernardino (L), Luis Guerrero, Zack Kelly, Chris Murphy (L), Zach Penrod (L), Josh Winckowski

Having six starting pitchers on the roster means the Red Sox will have one fewer bullpen spot, which means the Red Sox are going to have to get more creative about how they use their staff. Pitching coach Andrew Bailey suggested two ways the club will do that, by deploying more multi-inning weapons and by leaning on the club’s Triple-A depth.

So rather than your typical “high-leverage,” “low-leverage” and “mop-up” set-up, the Red Sox bullpen should best be divided like this:

One, you have your veteran core of established MLB arms who will primarily serve traditional one-inning roles. Right now that includes Hendriks, Chapman and Wilson, and if the club adds another outside arm they’ll most likely fit into this category as well.

Two, you have your hybrid multi-inning guys. That’ll be Slaten and Whitlock, both of whom are capable of shutting down opposing lineups whether it’s for one inning or for two to three innings at a time. With one fewer arm in the pen, Slaten and Whitlock’s ability to cover for the one-inning guys will be crucial, helping ensure the bullpen keeps getting results without anyone getting burned out.

Finally, there’s the rotating depth. As it stands now the Red Sox have two bullpen spots that are up for grabs, and while there will be fierce competition to earn those jobs out of camp, the reality is the club will probably cycle guys up and down from Triple-A on a regular basis. Criswell, Winckowski, Murphy and Penrod are all capable of giving the club length out of the pen, so if one of them ever goes three or four innings, it’s good bet they’ll immediately get sent down to Worcester and replaced by someone fresh. The traditional one-inning guys might get more runway, but that spot will also be a source of flexibility.

We’ll go with Weissert and Criswell as the projected Opening Day guys for now, but truthfully it almost doesn’t matter. Any reliever on the Red Sox 40-man roster should be considered part of the bullpen, whether they’re in Boston or not.

MLB: Connor Wong, Blake Sabol

MiLB depth: Carlos Narvaez, Seby Zavala

With Kyle Teel gone, the Red Sox catching situation looks a lot different than it did this time last month. Wong is now the clear No. 1 guy, and it appears the Red Sox will have a head-to-head battle for the backup catcher spot.

Sabol, acquired from the Giants on Wednesday, is the more experienced option. He’s played 121 MLB games over two seasons and offers a bit of positional versatility as well, having played a bit in the outfield and at first base. Narvaez, acquired from the Yankees earlier in the offseason, has only appeared in six MLB games but has drawn praise for his defense and pitch framing. He just took part in Boston’s Rookie Development Program and has been posting monster numbers in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Sabol should probably be considered the favorite to earn the backup catcher job going into camp, but Narvaez could easily establish himself and win the job. That’ll be a storyline worth following once spring training begins.

MLB: Triston Casas (1B), external addition (2B), Trevor Story (SS), Rafael Devers (3B), Ceddanne Rafaela (INF/OF), Romy Gonzalez (Util)

MiLB depth: Kristian Campbell, Vaughn Grissom, David Hamilton, Marcelo Mayer, Nick Sogard

At this point if the Red Sox make any outside additions to bolster their lineup, it will probably be someone who primarily plays infield.

Signing Alex Bregman still makes the most sense for Boston. He could immediately slot in at second base and wouldn’t immediately force the Red Sox into any drastic moves, like trading Casas and moving Devers to first base. His right-handed swing would play perfectly at Fenway Park and he’s topped 20 home runs in five of the last six 162-game seasons.

Outside of perhaps an unexpected trade, it’s hard to envision the Red Sox signing anyone else who would truly move the needle. The most likely Plan B would probably be a one-year deal for someone like Paul DeJong or Brandon Drury.

If not Bregman, you could argue the Red Sox would be better off going with an internal option. Campbell possesses enormous talent and might turn out to be the solution, though counting on a rookie to perform is always a gamble. Grissom and Hamilton would also compete for a spot, and Rafaela could factor into the equation as well depending on how the outfield shakes out.

MLB: Roman Anthony (LF), Jarren Duran (CF), Wilyer Abreu (RF), Masataka Yoshida (OF/DH), Ceddanne Rafaela (INF/OF), Rob Refsnyder (OF)

MiLB depth: Kristian Campbell, David Hamilton, Jhostynxon Garcia

Heading into the offseason Teoscar Hernandez seemed like a perfect fit for Boston, but as it turns out the Red Sox reportedly weren’t ever serious players for his services. That suggests the Red Sox might be comfortable going with their current group, and also that Roman Anthony could be a factor sooner rather than later.

I’ve been going back and forth on whether Anthony will start the season in the majors, but between Casas in 2023 and Rafaela last year, the Red Sox have shown they’re comfortable betting on young talent. Anthony is the most talented of them all, and based on everything he’s shown it would be foolish to bet against him making the Opening Day roster at this point.

As for how he’d fit in, Alex Cora has often platooned Casas and Abreu to avoid exposing them to left-handed pitching. Anthony, who also bats left-handed, might receive similar treatment early on, setting up a scenario where Anthony and Abreu start against right-handers while Rafaela and Refsnyder start against lefties.

Cora has also suggested Yoshida could once again be an option in the outfield, but in all likelihood he’ll remain the primary designated hitter.

With Bregman: Jarren Duran CF, Alex Bregman 2B, Rafael Devers 3B, Triston Casas 1B, Trevor Story SS, Masataka Yoshida DH, Wilyer Abreu RF, Connor Wong C, Roman Anthony LF

Without Bregman: Jarren Duran CF, Trevor Story SS, Rafael Devers 3B, Triston Casas 1B, Connor Wong C, Masataka Yoshida DH, Wilyer Abreu RF, Kristian Campbell 2B, Roman Anthony LF

You can see what a difference adding Bregman or another right-handed bat would make. With Bregman on board the Red Sox have balance, depth and established performers pretty much up and down the lineup. Without him Wong becomes the club’s No. 2 right-handed hitter, forcing the Red Sox to bump him up into the 5-6 range.

Campbell emerging as a difference-maker would solve this issue, and if he’s up to the task you could eventually slot him into that No. 5 spot. But as Cora said last week, rookies come to Boston to contribute, not carry the team, so expect the club to still add someone before the offseason wraps up.