2026 Red Sox/MLB Season Thread

[Vermont Green]

I did not see the Harrison/Hamilton for Durbin/Monasterio/Seigler turning into a good trade, but here we are. And the Sox are paying Durbin essentially nothing for the next few years instead of Bregman $35M/yr with a no-trade clause for the next 5 years.

Decided to look into the Durbin - Bregman comparison, pretty incredible.

Despite earning a small fraction of Bregman's $35 million annual salary, Durbin has an annual salary of $796,000, he has outpaced Bregman in bWAR (2.4 to 2.3) and defensive Outs Above Average (+4 to +1) so far this season. Durbin is providing incredible value at a fraction of the cost compared to Bregman. 

Since this is a Celtics forum, I thought I would find the Celtics player most similar to Durbin.  How about Payton Pritchard.  Durbin is under Sox control for the next 5 years.....

It is really funny (strange) how the perception of this trade has evolved.  I liked the trade when it happened.  Kyle Harrison had done nothing to indicate he was going to fulfill his promise, and Durbin was coming off a solid rookie season to fill a position of need.  But then Harrison started on fire in April and May, there was all-star and Cy Young talk, while Durbin looked like he couldn't hit at all.  Yikes.  It looked like a horrible trade.

But then Harrison started to falter in June/July and is now on the IL getting MRIs on his elbow.  Durbin, meanwhile, put up a 0.963 OPS in June and 0.786 OPS so far in July (along with gold glove caliber defense), and is channeling Pedroia or Altuve.  Yikes the other way.  Brilliant move.

[Silas]

Maybe the best win of the season....first time this season with a win after being down by 3...came back from losing 6-3 to score 4 in the 7th. They were 0-34 when trailing by 3. That's 3 in a row against the top team in the AL, Tampa Bay. Also, 12th win in a row...longest streak since 2006.  How about these Sox!!!!

On the verge of sweeping the 3 best teams in the AL in NYY, CHW, and TBR. Hoping they can cap it off today for another impressive 4-gamer. Either way, they've put themselves firmly back in the mix and the people in Boston/New England are just in a better mood now. Really impressive stuff

They did it....13 in a row with a 6-1 win over Tampa Bay.  They are currently the best team in major league baseball....GoBosox!!!!

[Phantom255x]

Yeah I'll fully admit I was wrong. This team is actually a World Series contender.

Okay I'm half joking lol, sort of. They are absolutely back in the mix and in this particular AL are capable of a deep postseason run. They have the pitching, and some of their bats are starting to get going too like Abreu. Just 1 game behind Cleveland for WC2 and 4 games behind the Yankees for WC1 and 2nd in the division.

Of course, Breslow adding a bat at the deadline (ideally a 2B/SS/C) and getting back Crochet + Anthony at some point would do wonders. We'll see, I'm still iffy about Breslow at the deadline because he hasn't really done well there and even last year despite all the rumors for Joe Ryan and other players, they ended up with Matz who was okay and then Dustin May as a Plan B who was a disaster. Time to swing bigger and get an impact bat, like Langeliers, Goodman, etc. or maybe even seeing if you can swap Story, Duran + prospects for Lindor and $$$. Something like that, no half-measures or pure minor depth trades.

[ozgod]

Who is this team and iWhat have they done with our Red Sox?

[SparzWizard]

How 'bout it, 13 in a row!

[Silas]

How 'bout it, 13 in a row!

Last time the Sox won 13 in a row was 1948 with Williams and Doerr leading the way. 

[Vermont Green]

Who is this team and What have they done with our Red Sox?

Good question.  I would add to that with asking how in the heck did this team win 18 of 20?  2.49 ERA last 30 days (1st of 30 teams), 0.749 OPS last 30 days (11th of 30 teams).  I think the defense has been good also in this stretch.

I think the pitching can remain top of the league good, especially if Crochet comes back 100%.  I think the hitting can remain middle of the pack, especially if Anthony comes back and they add a good hitter at the deadline.  But they probably will not continue to win 90% of their games.

[Vermont Green]

I saw this trade idea:

The Athletic's Jim Bowden proposed a Red Sox-Colorado Rockies trade on Monday for an All-Star catcher.

In Bowden"s trade idea, the Red Sox would acquire Goodman in exchange for left-hander Connelly Early, right-hander Kyson Witherspoon, shortstop Marcelo Mayer, and catcher Carlos Narvaez.

In this proposal, the Red Sox get the big middle-of-the-order bat they need in [Hunter] Goodman, who is controllable through 2029 and arbitration-eligible next year," Bowden wrote. "Yes, his home ballpark is Coors Field, but Goodman has been a much better hitter on the road this year, so his offensive output is no high-altitude mirage."

I don't know that much about Hunter Goodman, but that seems like a lot to give up.

It seems pretty clear that BOS will be a buyer for a "middle of the order bat", but I am starting to wonder who the sellers will be.  It does not seem like there will be all that many; probably more buyers than sellers.  I am starting to think that it is going to be tough to make this happen.