On January 26, 2012, Ross finalized a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox.
He was supposed to provide depth off the bench, but injuries, particularly to Carl Crawford, led to him holding a starting role for the entire season.
He started almost every day for Boston in all three outfield positions, but mainly right field.
On April 14, Ross hit his first home run in a Red Sox uniform, a two-run shot off the Tampa Bay Rays's Dane De La Rosa in a 13–5 Red Sox victory.
The next day, Ross hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning off Matt Moore in a 6–4 victory over the Rays.
On May 18, 2012, Ross suffered a fractured foot after fouling a ball off his foot.
He was placed on the disabled list and expected to miss from six to eight weeks.

On June 19, Ross was activated from the disabled list.
His first game back, he hit a home run against Mark Buehrle over the Green Monster at Fenway Park in a 7–5 victory over the Miami Marlins.
Five days later, he hit two home runs and had five RBI in a 9–4 victory over the Braves.
He hit two consecutive three-run home runs against Pedro Hernández of the White Sox on July 18 in a 10–1 Red Sox victory.
The next day, he hit a three-run home run against Addison Reed for a walk-off win against the White Sox.
For the season, he had a .267 average, 127 hits, 34 doubles, 22 home runs, and 81 RBI in 130 games (476 at bats).
On January 26, 2012, Ross finalized a one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. He was supposed to provide depth off the bench, but injuries, particularly to Carl Crawford, led to him holding a starting role for the entire season. He started almost every day for Boston in all three outfield positions, but mainly right field. On April 14, Ross hit his first home run in a Red Sox uniform, a two-run shot off the Tampa Bay Rays's Dane De La Rosa in a 13–5 Red Sox victory. The next day, Ross hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning off Matt Moore in a 6–4 victory over the Rays. On May 18, 2012, Ross suffered a fractured foot after fouling a ball off his foot. He was placed on the disabled list and expected to miss from six to eight weeks.
On June 19, Ross was activated from the disabled list. His first game back, he hit a home run against Mark Buehrle over the Green Monster at Fenway Park in a 7–5 victory over the Miami Marlins. Five days later, he hit two home runs and had five RBI in a 9–4 victory over the Braves. He hit two consecutive three-run home runs against Pedro Hernández of the White Sox on July 18 in a 10–1 Red Sox victory. The next day, he hit a three-run home run against Addison Reed for a walk-off win against the White Sox. For the season, he had a .267 average, 127 hits, 34 doubles, 22 home runs, and 81 RBI in 130 games (476 at bats).
Cody Ross