Boston Red Sox
Anthony served as the Red Sox’ leadoff hitter for the majority of the final month of his rookie season.
The Red Sox will have their top hitter in the leadoff spot to open the 2026 regular season.
Roman Anthony will serve as the Red Sox’ leadoff hitter this season, manager Alex Cora told reporters on Saturday. The news isn’t much of a surprise, with Cora giving an understandable reason why the young outfielder will hit first for Boston in 2026.
“It can be 1-0 very quick or it’s a quality at-bat,” Cora told reporters, via MassLive’s Christopher Smith.
Anthony showed veteran-like poise at the plate as a rookie in 2025. His 13.2 percent walk rate would’ve ranked 14th in baseball last season if he had enough at-bats to qualify. That helped him develop a highly impressive .396 on-base percentage, which would’ve been tied for the third-best mark in the majors had he registered enough at-bats in 2025.
As Anthony emerged as a top hitter in his rookie season, he quickly found his way to the top of the Red Sox’ lineup. He hit leadoff in 27 of the last 32 games he started before suffering a season-ending oblique injury in September.
Anthony thrived in the leadoff role as well. In his 27 leadoff plate appearances, Anthony went 8-for-25 (.320) with two home runs, seven strikeouts, a .370 on-base percentage, and a .930 OPS. Over the full course of a game, when Anthony was the Red Sox’ leadoff hitter, he hit .336 with six home runs, 17 RBIs, and a 1.003 OPS.
Anthony’s dominance hitting in the leadoff spot coincided with his breakout last season. Following a rough 15 games to start his career, Anthony hit .329 with seven home runs, 27 RBIs, and a .931 OPS over the final 56 games he played.
That stretch of play helped Anthony finish in third in AL Rookie of the Year voting despite playing just 71 games. It also helped earn him a roster spot for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. MLB Network also ranked Anthony as its second-best left fielder entering the 2026 season, while Anthony has the ninth-best odds to win AL MVP.
Cora’s declaration that Anthony will hit leadoff is the second known variable of the Red Sox’ lineup for 2026. In the offseason, Cora said that new first baseman Willson Contreras will hit cleanup.
With Anthony and Contreras set to this leadoff and cleanup, respectively, that might be a sign that Trevor Story will hit second, and either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu will hit third. That would help give the Red Sox some lefty-righty balance at the top of the order, with either Durran or Abreu likely hitting fifth.
If Boston opts to keep going with the lefty-righty balance throughout the order, that could mean new third baseman Caleb Durbin would hit sixth, and Marcelo Mayer would hit seventh. Ceddanne Rafaela has hit in the nine-hole for the majority of his young career, which would leave Carlos Narvaez for the eighth spot in the lineup.
The Red Sox will display Anthony and Contereas in their respective roles on Saturday, when they take on the Twins in their first Grapefruit League game of spring training.
Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
