The 2018 Boston Red Sox lineup should look like this

Logan Jakubajtys

BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 14: Christian Vazquez

The Boston Red Sox should win a World Series title in 2018. They need to make a few moves, and this is the lineup that they should have.

The expectation every year is for the Boston Red Sox to compete for a World Series title. They fell short in 2017, but 2018 looks promising.

A strong offseason with a few moves could make a huge difference in the Red Sox offense next season, and I still think that those moves will come. There should be at least one huge signing, followed by a lesser move that still makes an impact. The bullpen and rotation should also look a little different in 2018, but I’ll cover that later in the offseason.

For now, this is what I believe the Boston Red Sox offensive lineup should look like on Opening Day of the 2018 MLB season.

1. RF Mookie Betts

Mookie Betts should lead things off for Boston in 2018, at least to start the year. According to new manager Alex Cora, Betts is expected to fill the #1 spot on the lineup card.

"“I think we can be explosive,” he said. “I come from a place where we want to put pressure on the pitcher right away. You look at the athletes we have, Mookie Betts will be kind of like our George Springer. From pitch one we’re going to try and make the opposition grind and execution, and that’s not easy to do. I feel Mookie is athletic enough, he has extra-base power and he can be aggressive enough in the strike zone to put a good swing on right away and make the game 1-0, or have a man on second with no outs.”"

Last season, Betts was the leadoff man for Boston 81 times and had 16 home runs from that slot. He makes the most sense as the leadoff man for the Red Sox as they’ll look to play a similar style to the Houston Astros of last season.

Keeping the pressure on, Boston should slot their 2017 AL Rookie of the Year candidate into the 2-hole. He hit .271 last year with 20 home runs, 90 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. If both Betts and Benintendi find a way to get on base early, Boston will have plenty of speed on the bases to really get the opposing pitcher thinking. In 2018, Baseball Reference projects a .276/17 HR/74 RBI/13 SB season for Andrew, but that seems really low. He should improve from last season and hit at least another 20 bombs.

Benintendi could also be making a switch to center field defensively if the Red Sox add a big name outfielder to their mix. I believe they will, and that could lead to a Jackie Bradley Jr. trade. If that were to happen, Benintendi is the logical center fielder, not Mookie Betts. Betts is too solid as a right fielder, and the new outfielder should be able to adjust to Fenway’s Green Monster. The young, athletic, Benny Teddy would get his shot to show what he can do in center.

3. DH Hanley Ramirez

If you are able to get the speedy Betts and Benintendi on base in the first inning, you’re going to want to bring some power to the plate. The #3 through #6 hitters in this hypothetical lineup bring just that.

Hanley Ramirez will be fully healthy as the 2018 campaign begins, and he says that he feels better than ever. That’s a great sign for Boston. Last year, Hanley hit just .242 with 23 home runs and 62 RBI. His OPS was just .750. Ramirez will look to bounce back next year though, probably with about a .270 average, 25 home runs, and 80 RBI.

Ramirez says he feels as good as he did for all of the seasons he spent with the Marlins when he was in his 20s. It’s unlikely that we’ll see Hanley start swiping bags again like he did in his younger days, but perhaps he can have a late career spike in production at the plate once again. A little uptick in his average would go a long way for the Boston Red Sox offense in 2018.

4. LF J.D. Martinez

That new Red Sox left fielder I mentioned earlier? It should be J.D. Martinez. The Red Sox are not going to end up with Giancarlo Stanton, so they should do everything they can to sign Martinez this offseason. He will be the one big name star added to Boston’s roster this offseason, and it will have a tremendous impact up and down the roster.

While Martinez could DH and Ramirez could play first, Boston may make another move to add a true first baseman. In that scenario, Jackie Bradley Jr. would likely have to be sent elsewhere. It seems like the Giants, White Sox, or Royals could be a fit for JBJ right now, so finding a trade partner would not be difficult.

Last season, Martinez split his time with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Through 119 total games, he smashed 45 home runs to contribute 104 RBI to his teams. Boston could surely use that kind of pop in their lineup. Of course, the Red Sox couldn’t count on 45 homers being added, but even his 2018 projection from Baseball Reference would make enough of an impact. They have him hitting .290 with 31 home runs and 81 RBI next season. Let’s just hope he’s doing that in a Boston Red Sox uniform.

J.D. Martinez should also be able to take advantage of the dimensions of Fenway Park. In 2017, just under half of his home runs were hit to left field, and the Green Monster would become his best friend. He also has the ability to push the ball to the right though too, so the short 302-foot poke to Pesky Pole would be an added bonus.

Simply put, the Boston Red Sox need to find a way to get J.D. Martinez on this team. He gives them an instant improvement in the lineup and is certainly capable of playing left field. He’s the best option to make a run at a World Series title in 2018.

5. 3B Rafael Devers

Rafael Devers was called up before the Boston Red Sox really wanted him in the majors last season, and while his defense still needs a lot of work, he proved he can cut it as a hitter in this league. In 58 games in 2017, Devers hit .284 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI. That translates to a 162 game average of 28 homers and 84 RBI. Of course, he won’t play every game in 2018 so let’s project 20 long balls and 65 RBI for the up and coming slugger. He will be able to learn from both Ramirez and Martinez for a full season, and he could develop into a true power hitter over the next few years.

As the #5 hitter, Devers also won’t have to deal with as much pressure on him. Hanley Ramirez and J.D. Martinez will be counted on to provide most of the damage, and Devers will simply be able to relax and do what he does. He will still hit the ball extremely well, but his 2018 focus should be on defense. He was just a .906 fielder at third base last season as he committed 14 errors. Those numbers will have to improve.

6. 1B Logan Morrison

On most other teams, a hitter like Logan Morrison would not be batting 6th in the order. The 2018 Boston Red Sox will not be like most other teams.

Eric Hosmer and Carlos Santana are the two top free agent first basemen available, while Morrison is a second-tier player. With the addition of J.D. Martinez though, Morrison makes the most sense for Boston. He can add power to the lineup in the bottom half of the order and will be a great compliment to the other players already on the roster.

Last season, Logan Morrison hit a career-high 38 home runs. Don’t expect that from him again. It’s a lot more likely that LoMo drops back a bit, but that’s not a terrible thing. He could still end up hitting 15 to 25 homers in 2018, and from a #6 hitter, you likely wouldn’t find a better player in the league.

Morrison is also a very capable first baseman. He has a career .995 fielding percentage from first, with 23 errors on 4,442 chances.

7. 2B Eduardo Nunez

Dustin Pedroia will be on the shelf to begin the 2018 season, so Boston should hold onto Eduardo Nunez. In 38 games with the Red Sox last season, he hit .321 with 27 RBI. He was incredible at the plate down the stretch, and those numbers aren’t likely to be duplicated, but he’s proven that he can play in Boston. That should go a long way towards him playing in Fenway Park next season.

Nunez is certainly going to hold down the fort defensively, but if he can hit near .290 and add 50-60 RBI for this Boston Red Sox team as the #7 hitter, this team will be unstoppable. It would force an awkward conversation when Pedroia does return, likely in May or June. If Nunez is playing great baseball, the Red Sox may look into moving him to shortstop and shopping Xander Bogaerts elsewhere. That’s not the ideal scenario, as Boston would love to hold onto Bogey, but if the mentality is to win right now, the team would have some tough decisions to make.

8. SS Xander Bogaerts

Xander Bogaerts is not really going to impress at the plate, but he holds his own. In 2017 he hit a solid .273 with 10 home runs and 62 RBI in 148 games. He also added 15 stolen bases on the season. It’s possible, and likely, that Xander will bounce back at the plate though. He won’t put up numbers like he did in 2016 when he had 21 homers and 89 RBI, but he should be able to hit around .280 with 15 long balls and 70 RBI for the Sox.

Really though, Boston is not counting on Bogaerts’ production at the plate. He’s one of the best shortstops in the game defensively and he’s posted a .977 fielding percentage over his career. In 2017 he made a career-high 17 errors from short, but that is not likely to happen again. Boston knows they have a great shortstop on their hands, it’s just time for the fans to realize it as well.

9. C Christian Vazquez

Christian Vazquez should be the full-time starting catcher for the Boston Red Sox in 2018. He made the jump from 57 games in 2016 to 99 in 2017, and he should break 100 in 2018. The defensive mastermind saw his bat come alive last season as well. Vazquez hit a career-best .290 with career highs in home runs (5) and RBI (32). No, those are not shocking numbers, but Vazquez is expected to do almost nothing from the plate. He still can keep improving though, and a 10 home run, 40 RBI season may be on the horizon.

Vazquez is simply the best option though, for his defense alone. He is one of the best in the game, and at just 27, he’s still getting better. In 95 games behind the plate last season, Vazquez had a .991 fielding percentage and he committed just 8 errors. He was 3rd in the AL with a 42% caught-stealing percentage. No one runs on Vazquez, and that will continue in 2018 as he takes more control of the Red Sox great pitching staff.

Next: 5 under the radar Red Sox targets

So, it looks like this Boston Red Sox lineup should be able to make a long postseason run, and they should be able to take down any NL team for a World Series title. Of course, Boston still needs to make some moves to add J.D. Martinez and Logan Morrison, but the offseason hot stove is truly just beginning to heat up. Dave Dombrowski is willing to spend, and if this is a lineup he can end up with, you know that he will. Boston has a tremendous starting rotation that will keep them in a ton of games, and this power-heavy lineup should be able to grab some early leads. It will be a lot of fun to see what the Boston Red Sox do for this offseason, but I really hope this is the squad that takes the field on March 29th to open the season.