Red Sox at Rangers Lineups: Rick Porcello’s last hurrah?

Among the many ripple effects the Red Sox could be dealing with this winter is the departure of Rick Porcello. He is, of course, a free agent at the end of the year. There is always the possibility of the Red Sox deciding to bring him back after he tests the open market, but my pure speculation is that the likelihood of that is under 50 percent.

The righty gets the start on Wednesday, and with just four games left on the schedule after this that means this is his very possibly the last time he’ll pitch in a Red Sox uniform. I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Alex Cora gives him a chance to pitch out of the bullpen this coming weekend to give him a goodbye in front of the Fenway crown, but that’s far from a sure thing. Porcello’s legacy in Boston is super complicated with the highest of highs and lowest of lows, something we’ll cover extensively this winter. Ultimately, though, this is a guy who won a Cy Young here as well as a World Series. That’s puts him in a special class in this franchise’s history, even with the aforementioned lows.

On the other side, the Red Sox are going against rookie Kolby Allard. Mookie Betts will sit this one out after re-injuring his foot on Tuesday. Andrew Benintendi slides into the leadoff spot while Gorkys Hernández takes over in righty. Chris Owings gets the start at second base, with the rest of the lineup being about what you’d expect.

The full lineups are below.