Red Sox vs. Twins lineups: Limping to the beginning

The COVID-hobbled Red Sox face the Twins this afternoon at 1:05 p.m. as the team tries to heal up for opening day.

As of now, Matt Barnes is the only COVID-positive Red Sox player, but eight other players are in contact tracing, per Alex Cora, via the Globe’s Alex Speier. They are likely to be ready for the regular season, Cora said, while Christian Vázquez will participated in a ‘B’ game Monday to test his readiness for the regular season. Franchy Cordero, meanwhile, will play both today and tomorrow to bolster his case for an opening day roster spot.

Josh Winckowski will start for the beleaguered Sox, to be followed tomorrow by Tanner Houck and subsequently by Martín Pérez. Following the Winkster are Adam Ottavino, Josh Taylor, Austin Brice, Phillips Valdez and Marcus Walden—all hands on deck for the short-shrifted Sox.

José Berríos will make his final spring start for the Twins, who the Sox will face off against for real on April 12th after nine spring meetings, which is way too soon for me. Talk to me in June and we can discuss Minnesota further, especially after their lineups were hideously late today.

Twins lineup

1. Luis Arráez (L) 2B

2. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B

3. Nelson Cruz (R) DH

4. Byron Buxton (R) CF

5. Jake Cave (L) RF

6. Kyle Garlick (R) LF

7. Ryan Jeffers (R) C

8. Andrelton Simmons (R) SS

9. Willians Astudillo (R) 1B

SP: José Berríos, RHP

Red Sox lineup

1. Kiké Hernández (R) CF

2. Franchy Cordero (L) LF

3. J.D. Martinez (R) DH

4. Xander Bogaerts (R) SS

5. Rafael Devers (L) 3B

6. Hunter Renfroe (R) RF

7. Marwin Gonzalez (S) 2B

8. Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B

9. Chris Herrmann (L) C

SP: Josh Winckowski, RHP