The Boston Red Sox have finalized their plans for Caleb Durbin ahead of Friday’s highly anticipated series opener against the New York Yankees, announcing a notable decision about the infielder’s immediate role.
The move provides clarity on Durbin’s status heading into the crucial weekend matchup with the Yankees as the Red Sox continue struggling to pull themselves into the American League East race.
Durbin is hitting fifth Friday night at Yankee Stadium, his highest spot in the batting order in months, according to veteran Red Sox reporter Sean McAdam of MassLive. Durbin batted second five times early in the season, then watched his production crater and his lineup spot drop. The vast majority of his at-bats have come from the lower third of the order. He will occupy the No. 5 spot Friday for only the second time this season.
Here are the full lineups for Friday’s game.
| Boston Red Sox | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Jarren Duran | LF | L | 10 | 33 | 10 | .215 | .683 |
| 2 | Ceddanne Rafaela | CF | R | 5 | 24 | 6 | .286 | .784 |
| 3 | Wilyer Abreu | RF | L | 7 | 28 | 4 | .283 | .780 |
| 4 | Willson Contreras | 1B | R | 12 | 35 | 1 | .295 | .919 |
| 5 | Caleb Durbin | 3B | R | 1 | 23 | 5 | .194 | .554 |
| 6 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa | SS | R | 1 | 12 | 4 | .282 | .697 |
| 7 | Andruw Monasterio | 2B | R | 1 | 10 | 1 | .245 | .673 |
| 8 | Mickey Gasper | DH | S | 0 | 5 | 0 | .328 | .789 |
| 9 | Connor Wong | C | R | 0 | 10 | 1 | .261 | .715 |
| New York Yankees | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Pos | B | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OPS |
| 1 | Trent Grisham | CF | L | 7 | 31 | 4 | .212 | .710 |
| 2 | Ben Rice | DH | L | 17 | 44 | 2 | .300 | 1.031 |
| 3 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B | R | 7 | 23 | 1 | .276 | .888 |
| 4 | Cody Bellinger | LF | L | 8 | 40 | 7 | .273 | .841 |
| 5 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 2B | L | 7 | 22 | 15 | .238 | .706 |
| 6 | Spencer Jones | RF | L | 0 | 2 | 1 | .167 | .426 |
| 7 | Anthony Volpe | SS | R | 1 | 8 | 5 | .220 | .679 |
| 8 | Ryan McMahon | 3B | L | 6 | 20 | 3 | .205 | .608 |
| 9 | Austin Wells | C | L | 4 | 7 | 0 | .169 | .544 |
Durbin’s Turnaround Earns Lineup Promotion
Durbin arrived in January via a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers that sent pitcher Kyle Harrison â now posting a 1.57 ERA through 11 starts â along with Shane Drohan and David Hamilton to Milwaukee. Durbin came over with infielders Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler as the primary return.
Durbin had a daunting assignment from the get-go. He was forced to step into the vacancy left by the Red Sox’s failure to re-sign Alex Bregman, who signed with the Chicago Cubs, and spent the first 45 games buried at the plate, hitting .168 with a .492 OPS. Interim manager Chad Tracy began mixing in Nick Sogard and Isiah Kiner-Falefa at third base. Between May 17 and May 27, Durbin drew just three starts across nine games, sitting back-to-back during a series against the Atlanta Braves.
Then came a piece of advice from a teammate, catcher Carlos Narváez. On Narváez’s recommendation, Durbin began making a half-hour drive before each home game to Gradum GSwing, a private hitting facility in Waltham, Mass. He worked with founder Lorenzo Garmendia on two fixes: stopping a backward lean through his swing and adjusting his lead hand to handle inside pitches.
“It was a lot of knowing what I needed to work on but struggling to do it,” Durbin said, as quoted by The Athletic‘s Jen McCaffrey.
His groundball rate fell from roughly 60 percent to around 40 percent. Over the last seven games, Durbin is 10-for-28 (.357) with six extra-base hits.
“He’s getting the ball off the ground more,” Tracy said, quoted in McCaffrey’s report. “There’s more balls going in the air from the middle of the right side, and even to the pull side now. He looks great.”
The arc echoes his 2025 rookie season with Milwaukee. Durbin opened that year at .204 with a .606 OPS in 48 games, then hit .283 with a .780 OPS over his final 88, finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting with a 2.7 bWAR across 136 games.
Red Sox Open Yankees Series Facing a Steep Climb
Boston arrives at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx at 26-35, 10 1/2 games behind a New York club sitting at 37-25 â and 12 behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays. The last time these teams met, New York swept three at Fenway Park in April, holding the Sox to three total runs. Manager Alex Cora was fired just two days after that dismal series wrapped up.
The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge, placed on the injured list Thursday with a stress fracture of the right rib. New York recalled their No. 6 overall prospect Spencer Jones to take over right field Friday, according to a report by New York sports network SNY.
Sonny Gray takes the ball for Boston at 6-1 with a 3.06 ERA, opposed by lefty Ryan Weathers at 2-3 with a 3.52 ERA. First pitch at Yankee Stadium is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.
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