FORT MYERS, Fla. — After being held out for the first week of game action, several key Red Sox position players will return to the lineup this weekend, starting with outfielder Jarren Duran on Friday.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed that Duran will make his spring debut in Friday’s game against the Minnesota Twins and that he will serve as a designated hitter. Triston Casas (flu) will make his debut during Saturday’s split squad games and Connor Wong (elbow soreness) will be back behind the plate, and infielder Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) is expected back on Sunday.
Casas returned to camp on Wednesday after being away from the facility for several days, and Cora said the first baseman is feeling much better. He added that Casas has fallen a little behind in his running progression but is otherwise in a great spot.
In terms of pitching, Cora also laid out the Red Sox upcoming starters through the end of the weekend. Lucas Giolito will start for Boston on Friday against the Twins over at Hammond Stadium, and in Saturday’s split squad games Nick Pivetta will start against the Rays in Port Charlotte and Brayan Bello and Tanner Houck will both take the mound against the Nationals at JetBlue Park.
Kutter Crawford will then start Sunday against the Blue Jays and Josh Winckowski on Monday against Detroit in Lakeland.
Following Giolito on Friday, the Red Sox also announced that Chris Murphy, Isaiah Campbell, Justin Slaten, Helcris Olivarez and Justin Hagenman will all come out of the bullpen in relief. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.