2026 Red Sox/MLB Season Thread

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I get that this has been a frustrating season but I feel there are more keepers than some are saying as part of their vents.  I like the outfield, Abreu, Rafaela, Anthony could still be one of the best Outfields in the game.  Overall, the pitching is good.  Bello may snap out of it, Crochet will be back at some point, no need to blow up the pitching, starters or bullpen.

But the infield, Contreras is fine, really good actually, but big questions with Mayer and Durbin have been major disappointments as the future SS and 3B.  2B is a big issue too as is catcher.

What I am seeing does not make me think that trying to build by signing young players is necessarily the wrong strategy, but you have to sign the right young players.  Same with signing vets, whether or not it is a better or worse strategy, you have to sign the right players.  The Sox so far have not hit on the young players, but that does not mean that signing young players is always wrong or an indication that the team is cheap.

The outfield is very good defensively but is a power vacuum -- in this day and age of big bats, a championship-level OF should account for at least 70 home runs, but Boston's current trio of Abreu/Duran/Rafaela has only 23, which is on pace for about 56. We all hope that Anthony will raise that number quite a bit, but he had only 1 homer in 30 games prior to his injury, and he's still mostly unproven, so nothing's guaranteed with him.

In the infield (including catcher), Contreras is the only positive bat at this point. And Yoshida as the primary DH is a disaster.

So, yeah, the starting pitching is pretty good, especially given that Early and Tolle look so promising and Crochet's return should help a lot (whenever that happens), but the bullpen has a lot of holes outside of Chapman and Whitlock, and the offense is a train wreck at this point, confirmed by the fact that Boston is second-worst in runs scored in the entire majors this season, only 3 runs ahead of last-place San Diego. It'll be AWESOME to get the dead weight of Story and Yoshida off the books, but all that cap room won't do much good if Henry's gonna limit spending to "promising young players" as opposed to proven vets who are likely to hit 30+ homers every season.

[Phantom255x]

I'm stating the obvious but man this organization is not only dysfunctional, but it's become putrid

The product is terrible AND boring. Now 29-42, on pace to finish 65-97, worse than the 2012 Valentine year. I think I was 13 years old at the time and let me tell you, that felt like hell at the time. And somehow this feels 2x worse, and 10x more boring too. Terrible mix, being bad is one thing but boring too? Oof

This offense is offensive. And Breslow is gonna be trusted to run the deadline before he gets inevitably fired at the end of the season? Oh yeah, that'll go over well! Prepare for Chapman to get traded for two garbage prospects that'll never make the big leagues. Pathetic.

Thankfully the World Cup is going on now, because this team is a joke to watch. The season basically ended in late May-early June which is even more embarassing, in an AL that is historically bad too

[SparzWizard]

Red Sox take down the Yankees in extra innings!

Sweep!

[Redz]

Red Sox take down the Yankees in extra innings!

Sweep!

What a weird game that was!

Definitely caught the Yankees at the right time,, but wins against ANY team are a good thing right now.

[byennie]

It's going to be really interesting where the Sox go from here. They've been pretty bad this year, no doubt about that, but it's a very weird juxtaposition.

1. The starting pitching is excellent, including 3 young arms (Tolle, Early, Bennett) and 3 veterans (Crochet, Gray, Suarez).
2. The bullpen is poor overall, but it's the easiest thing to buy when you're all-in later.
3. DH is terrible, but again, buy any bat. That's one lineup upgrade waiting to happen.
4. Anthony and Duran only have upside from here, and Durbin is finally starting to play. That's 3 more lineup upgrades.
5. Mayer can't be any worse. Even an average Story after the break would be a clear improvement.

I disagree that the outfield necessarily needs to him more home runs. They need to be healthy, and play to their career averages -- we'd have four guys around .800 OPS and great defense. That's really solid if unconventional.

Lots and lots of ifs, this season could really end up in the tank if it's not already, but also some very wide outcomes. We've seen what happens when the rotation clicks at the same time. That can turn into some streaks. And versus where we've been, with a little good fortune we should be getting anywhere from 2-5 lineup upgrades along the way, and (hopefully) Crochet back at some point.

Really hard to read, one thing I think they should consider is morale. We've got Anthony, Mayer, Tolle, Early, Bennett that are really critical to our future. Selling assets makes it even tougher on young guys who aren't used to so much losing. I wouldn't mind them buying a bat at the deadline if the price is not too high. Just a DH that makes us a little better instead of selling off for more minor league prospects. Keep Chapman and Gray and don't throw in the towel. I guess if someone offers something really good for Gray you might have to do it (and hopefully replace with Crochet), but still.

Later this year, Arias and Eyanson should both be showing out in AAA (don't rush them) and we still have Witherspoon, Valera and Phillips pitching at Greenville.

Hopefully this is just the core of a rebuild and Sox fans can't stand losing, but we shall see

[Phantom255x]

It's going to be really interesting where the Sox go from here. They've been pretty bad this year, no doubt about that, but it's a very weird juxtaposition.

1. The starting pitching is excellent, including 3 young arms (Tolle, Early, Bennett) and 3 veterans (Crochet, Gray, Suarez).
2. The bullpen is poor overall, but it's the easiest thing to buy when you're all-in later.
3. DH is terrible, but again, buy any bat. That's one lineup upgrade waiting to happen.
4. Anthony and Duran only have upside from here, and Durbin is finally starting to play. That's 3 more lineup upgrades.
5. Mayer can't be any worse. Even an average Story after the break would be a clear improvement.

I disagree that the outfield necessarily needs to him more home runs. They need to be healthy, and play to their career averages -- we'd have four guys around .800 OPS and great defense. That's really solid if unconventional.

Lots and lots of ifs, this season could really end up in the tank if it's not already, but also some very wide outcomes. We've seen what happens when the rotation clicks at the same time. That can turn into some streaks. And versus where we've been, with a little good fortune we should be getting anywhere from 2-5 lineup upgrades along the way, and (hopefully) Crochet back at some point.

Really hard to read, one thing I think they should consider is morale. We've got Anthony, Mayer, Tolle, Early, Bennett that are really critical to our future. Selling assets makes it even tougher on young guys who aren't used to so much losing. I wouldn't mind them buying a bat at the deadline if the price is not too high. Just a DH that makes us a little better instead of selling off for more minor league prospects. Keep Chapman and Gray and don't throw in the towel. I guess if someone offers something really good for Gray you might have to do it (and hopefully replace with Crochet), but still.

Later this year, Arias and Eyanson should both be showing out in AAA (don't rush them) and we still have Witherspoon, Valera and Phillips pitching at Greenville.

Hopefully this is just the core of a rebuild and Sox fans can't stand losing, but we shall see

I think with the emergence of Bennett and the potential of Crochet returning in August, that still makes Gray expendable at the deadline. He will be the best non-Skubal SP available and there are a handful of teams desperate for pitching (Braves, White Sox, Padres, Cubs, etc.). Chapman will be interesting, he has a mutual option for 2027 but also, he's been very shaky the past few weeks. 2 blown saves the past week. If you can get 1 Top-100 MLB prospect and another prospect/player, go for it. If not though, and his value diminishes a bit, I think I'd prefer to keep him even beyond this season. Even if he regresses, he's one of the best relievers in all of baseball and if you won't get the value for him, just keep him.

At minimum, Gray and Chapman (and maybe Duran) should fetch back a total of 2 Top-100 prospects, and 2-3 other prospects/players combined. Ideally, one of those pieces coming back is a great catching prospect (like Stevenson from the Mariners or Salas from the Padres). Just dumping Chapman and Gray for fringe/mediocre prospects does nothing for me and I think the Sox feel the same way. Relievers and SPs of this caliber typically fetch back a good haul at recent deadlines, even with Gray and Chapman being up there in age.

[byennie]

It's going to be really interesting where the Sox go from here. They've been pretty bad this year, no doubt about that, but it's a very weird juxtaposition.

1. The starting pitching is excellent, including 3 young arms (Tolle, Early, Bennett) and 3 veterans (Crochet, Gray, Suarez).
2. The bullpen is poor overall, but it's the easiest thing to buy when you're all-in later.
3. DH is terrible, but again, buy any bat. That's one lineup upgrade waiting to happen.
4. Anthony and Duran only have upside from here, and Durbin is finally starting to play. That's 3 more lineup upgrades.
5. Mayer can't be any worse. Even an average Story after the break would be a clear improvement.

I disagree that the outfield necessarily needs to him more home runs. They need to be healthy, and play to their career averages -- we'd have four guys around .800 OPS and great defense. That's really solid if unconventional.

Lots and lots of ifs, this season could really end up in the tank if it's not already, but also some very wide outcomes. We've seen what happens when the rotation clicks at the same time. That can turn into some streaks. And versus where we've been, with a little good fortune we should be getting anywhere from 2-5 lineup upgrades along the way, and (hopefully) Crochet back at some point.

Really hard to read, one thing I think they should consider is morale. We've got Anthony, Mayer, Tolle, Early, Bennett that are really critical to our future. Selling assets makes it even tougher on young guys who aren't used to so much losing. I wouldn't mind them buying a bat at the deadline if the price is not too high. Just a DH that makes us a little better instead of selling off for more minor league prospects. Keep Chapman and Gray and don't throw in the towel. I guess if someone offers something really good for Gray you might have to do it (and hopefully replace with Crochet), but still.

Later this year, Arias and Eyanson should both be showing out in AAA (don't rush them) and we still have Witherspoon, Valera and Phillips pitching at Greenville.

Hopefully this is just the core of a rebuild and Sox fans can't stand losing, but we shall see

I think with the emergence of Bennett and the potential of Crochet returning in August, that still makes Gray expendable at the deadline. He will be the best non-Skubal SP available and there are a handful of teams desperate for pitching (Braves, White Sox, Padres, Cubs, etc.). Chapman will be interesting, he has a mutual option for 2027 but also, he's been very shaky the past few weeks. 2 blown saves the past week. If you can get 1 Top-100 MLB prospect and another prospect/player, go for it. If not though, and his value diminishes a bit, I think I'd prefer to keep him even beyond this season. Even if he regresses, he's one of the best relievers in all of baseball and if you won't get the value for him, just keep him.

At minimum, Gray and Chapman (and maybe Duran) should fetch back a total of 2 Top-100 prospects, and 2-3 other prospects/players combined. Ideally, one of those pieces coming back is a great catching prospect (like Stevenson from the Mariners or Salas from the Padres). Just dumping Chapman and Gray for fringe/mediocre prospects does nothing for me and I think the Sox feel the same way. Relievers and SPs of this caliber typically fetch back a good haul at recent deadlines, even with Gray and Chapman being up there in age.

I hear ya-- this is inevitably going to come down to the return. I do always wonder when 6 starters is considered excess. Tolle, Early and Bennett have all never pitched full season endings, and Crochet could easily end up shut down etc. We could easily end up with 2-3 of the 6 finishing strong.