Red Sox's Ranger Suárez Set to Begin Season in Unexpected Rotation Spot

Better to build up correctly than force a rotation order in terms of skill level

Mar 14, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Venezuela starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) delivers a pitch against Japan in the third inning during a quarterfinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Ranger Suárez seemed to be the No. 2 starter the Boston Red Sox were seeking this offseason. So why might he start the year in the No. 5 spot?

Suárez, who signed a five-year, $130 million contract with the Red Sox in January, finished up a stint in the World Baseball Classic with Team Venezuela this week, as he, Wilyer Abreu, and Willson Contreras took championship hats and t-shirts back to Red Sox camp.

On Thursday, manager Alex Cora strongly hinted that Suárez was likely to begin the year in the fifth spot in the Boston rotation, owing mainly to the irregular preseason buildup Suárez has had as a result of that Team Veneuela tenure.

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What Red Sox's rotation will 'probably' be to open season

Sep 24, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Per Cora, the key for Suárez will be to get back on a proper schedule and build up to being able to pitch a full starter's workload after his WBC outings were short and out of line with a normal spring schedule.

“We’ll talk about how we re-arrange the rotation but obviously, he didn’t pitch much in the tournament,” Cora said Thursday, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “We have to make sure we get the volume up. The goal is to keep him healthy throughout.”

Garrett Crochet was the obvious opening day starter for the Red Sox, and with Suárez likely to pitch fifth, it would seem that Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello, and Johan Oviedo are in position to be starters 2-through-4. Gray and Bello would round out the opening series against the Cincinnati Reds, while Oviedo and Suárez would pitch the first two games of the Houston Astros series.

“We’ll sit down, but probably,” was Cora's response to that rotation configuration, per Cotillo.

If the Red Sox can get 30-plus starts out of Suárez, it won't matter in the slightest that he started the year in the so-called "last" spot in the rotation. The Red Sox believe he can start the second game of a playoff series, if need be.

Health is the key to everything on the pitching front these days, and the Red Sox have the right goals in mind here with Suárez.