On Sunday, the Boston Red Sox announced that pitchers Justin Slaten and Joely Rodriguez had made the Opening Day roster and released veteran first baseman C.J. Cron.

On Thursday night, the Red Sox take on Seattle in their season opener. Lucas Luetge, a left-hander, will start the season at Triple-A. On Sunday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora stated that infielder Bobby Dalbec had a strong chance of making the roster.

The organization offered Cron and Rodriguez minor league contracts with opt-out clauses in the event that they were not selected for the big league team. Both used those opt-outs on Friday, allowing the Red Sox to decide by Sunday.

• After playing with the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels the previous season, Cron, 34, was a free agent. Despite having back problems, he played in 71 games and batted a total of.248 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs.

Cron played 10 seasons for the Angels (2014–17, 2023), Tampa Bay Rays (2018), Minnesota Twins (2019), Detroit Tigers (2020), and Rockies (2021–23). The Angels selected Cron with the 17th overall pick in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft. In 11 Red Sox games in 2023, 32-year-old Rodriguez has a 6.55 ERA. This spring, he appeared in six bullpen appearances, recording two saves and a 2.57 ERA. Check out the Bellingham Herald’s article on 287053165.html with storylink=cpy for additional information.

Slaten will play in his first major league game. In 40 outings (one start) between Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, he went 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA.