NESN is adding a former Red Sox infielder to this year’s broadcasts.
The network announced their lineup for the upcoming season on Thursday, with Dave O’Brien back in the booth as the primary play-by-play announcer, backed up by Mike Monaco.
As has been the case for the last two years, O’Brien or Monaco will be joined by a rotating cast of characters. Kevin Youkilis is expected to be the primary color analyst, followed by Will Middlebrooks – working about 10 games more than last season – and Lou Merloni. Kevin Millar will be in the booth for at least a dozen games, though not always as a solo analyst.
Tom Caron will celebrate his 29th anniversary with NESN in August, and continue in his role as the primary studio host, backed up by Adam Pellerin. Jahmai Webster is entering his seventh season as the sideline reporter. Middlebrooks will continue serving as a studio analyst in addition to an increased workload in the booth. Jim Rice, Lenny DiNardo, and Jonathan Papelbon will be back in the studio.
Deven Marrero is the lone newcomer in the studio. The former infielder was Boston’s first-round pick in the 2012 June Draft, and spent the first three seasons of a seven-year big-league career with the Sox.
The lineup reveal is bittersweet, as it’s the first one without Tim Wakefield in over a decade. After announcing his retirement in February 2012, the beloved knuckleballer joined NESN’s pre- and postgame coverage in June, and remained a fixture on the broadcasts until his cancer diagnosis last summer. He passed away on October 1, the last day of the ’23 season.