Do The Red Sox Face Jacob deGrom? Rangers Set Rotation For 2025 Opening Weekend

The competition is set...

Sep 27, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox certainly have some stiff competition laid in front of them this weekend.

Now that there's more hype around the Red Sox than has existed in at least half a decade, it will be paramount to get off to a strong start to the season. With the first seven games taking place on the road against tough American League opponents, the team should quickly find out what it's made of.

Opening Day is now only two days away, and Boston is getting ready to go through a gauntlet. Facing the Texas Rangers on the road, the Red Sox will be dealing with an old friend, a young fireballer, and perhaps the greatest number-four starter in baseball history.

On Tuesday, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy announced a "likely" starting rotation for the four-game set with the Red Sox this weekend, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. Boston will face Nathan Eovaldi on Thursday, Jack Leiter on Friday, Tyler Mahle on Saturday, and Jacob deGrom on Sunday.

It's a new look Rangers rotation compared to what the Red Sox saw a year ago. They faced off against Eovaldi once, tagging him for five earned runs and a loss, but the other three are uncharted territory. Leiter still has only 35 2/3 big-league innings under his belt, while deGrom last faced Boston in April of 2021.

The Red Sox, of course, already had their own tentative rotation set, thanks to Richard Fitts winning the number-four starter role. That means Fitts, who has four career major league starts under his belt, will face off against a two-time Cy Young winner and the most dominant pitcher of his era (when healthy).

Boston will send new ace Garrett Crochet, who had a dominant spring, to the mound in game one. They'll go with Tanner Houck, who had a dreadful spring, in game two. And free-agent acquisition Walker Buehler will toe the slab in game three.

It's a series full of captivating pitching matchups, and both lineups can wreck any of these starters' days. Boston has a roster that can compete with anyone on paper, but this series will be a tough early test for a team hoping to return to the playoffs.

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