The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reports the Boston Red Sox have announced their rotation for the first five days of exhibition games. On Wednesday, March 3, P Casey Kelly will start against Northeastern University, while SP Boof Bonser will start against Boston College. SP Josh Beckett will start against the Minnesota Twins Thursday, March 4. SP Jon Lester will start against the Twins Friday, March 5, before being relieved by SP Tim Wakefield. On Saturday, March 6, SP John Lackey will face the Twins, while P Felix Doubront will face the Tampa Bay Rays. SP Clay Buchholz will pitch against the Baltimore Orioles Sunday, March 7. The Grapefruit League rotation sets up either Beckett (on one additional day of rest) or Lester (on normal rest) to start the regular season opener against the New York Yankees on April 4.
Our Instinct: The likely opening day rotation will be Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz. In the event that Dice-K isn’t ready to go, Tim Wakefield will find his way back into the rotation. Lester is a top 10 option, while Beckett is a top 20. Lackey will be over priced now that he is with the Red Sox, but should still be a good middle of the rotation guy, along with Buchholz and a healthy Dice-K. If Wakefield gets a significant number of starts, he will be a decent end of the rotation option.
