Boston Red Sox 2026 Position Analysis: Designated Hitter

[Alex Mayes]

Designated hitter is arguably the most convoluted position in the Boston Red Sox’s lineup as we head into the 2026 season. That spot seems like it is primed to help the team kick the can down the road even further while they try to figure out how to knock loose the outfield logjam. Now, having too many major-league-caliber offensive players on one roster is hardly a negative thing, but Alex Cora is going to have to get creative very early on this season if the goal is to get regular at-bats for everyone currently labeled as an outfielder on the 26-man roster. Let’s dive into the position that may make or break the lineup this season.

Red Sox Designated Hitter At A Glance

Starter: Jarren Duran

Backup: Masataka Yoshida

Depth: Roman Anthony, Willson Contreras, Triston Casas

Red Sox fWAR Ranking Last Year: 7th out of 30

Red Sox fWAR Projection This Year: 13th out of 30

The Good

That’s a lot of potential power across the board for the designated hitter position. Both Duran and Yoshida have had standout performances during the World Baseball Classic, and Duran was on fire early in spring training, even against left-handed pitchers like Chris Sale. If Duran has found his power stroke again, and early returns indicate that he has, he should serve as the primary DH for the Red Sox moving forward. Anthony will see some time there on occasion because Duran needs to play the field from time to time as well, but those breathers should be few and far between as Anthony should be seeing regular time in left field as long as he’s healthy. Contreras will get the lion’s share of reps at first base but will need the occasional day off from the field as well, so look for him to rotate into the DH role too.

What does that mean for Yoshida, though? Your guess is as good as mine. There has been at least rumored interest in him during the offseason and his strong showing at the WBC may give some teams the confidence to take on part of his salary to add him to their lineup, but that’s not a given. If healthy, and he clearly seems to be, he’s going to be an incredibly expensive bench piece. That’s a waste of his talent and team resources. The smart play here is to cut bait and eat the bulk of the rest of Yoshida's contract to send him somewhere he can get regular reps.

The unknown here is Casas. We’re likely not going to see him until mid-to-late April at the earliest since he’s not going to get into any Grapefruit League games. Casas has 30-home run potential, but we’ve yet to see a fully healthy season out of him. If he bounces back from his knee injury as expected, he’s going to be pushing for a spot on the major-league roster sooner or later. While that’s an exciting thought for this season, it creates far more questions surrounding the current construction of the lineup.

The Bad

Essentially, take every good outcome listed above and reverse it. That’s the potential downside of having an open-door DH policy. Duran could struggle against left-handed pitching again while failing to provide much of a spark against righties. Anthony could hit his sophomore slump early in the season and take time to recover as the league adjusts to him. Contreras may not live up to the hype as a dominant pull-side hitter at Fenway. Yoshida could continue to struggle during the regular season. Casas might be slapped with the injury-prone label as he fails to return to form after two devastating injuries the past two years. It would be a catastrophe for the Red Sox, but let’s not pretend like the team is immune from those. Expecting all of that to happen during the same season, at the same time, feels farfetched right now. Should one or two of them come to pass, though? Then the front office will be on the ropes.

The Bottom Line

The Red Sox are in a very good place when it comes to the talent that will be cycling through the designated hitter position in 2026. Is there a true big-bat thumper in the group? That’s unlikely, but with how players have been performing in spring training and the WBC, it looks like there could be 20+ home run potential from each of the names listed above. That’s huge, especially for a team that lacks power on paper. The Red Sox have spent the offseason building, potentially, the best starting rotation in baseball. Alex Cora and Craig Breslow have even made comments about having to win low-scoring games with their defense. While that’s certainly on the table, it'd be nice if the offense can slug its way to a few wins as well.

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