The Harsh Truth About the Boston Red Sox.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. The Boston Red Sox are insane. Another year, another feeble effort against their hated rival New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series.
I thought last year was bad, with the Sox becoming the first team since the new Wild Card Series was introduced to lose it after winning Game 1. At least they were competitive last year. In 2026, they were dog-walked. They didn’t belong on the same field as the Yankees. The offense was horrible outside of a pair of solo homers, the bullpen imploded, and rookie manager Chad Tracy made many questionable pitching decisions that helped the Yankees blow the door open in both games, ultimately losing 9-0 and 9-2 in a clean sweep.
The summer of 2026 was magical, I am not discrediting that. However, the spring and the fall showed us what this team truly was; just not good enough to compete in a weakened American League. Even worse, this finish could cost them their future.
I rarely say nice things about Chief Baseball Officer, Craig Breslow, but I will give him credit. He built a team that wins on pitching and defense...in the regular season, at least. Boston had a 3.54 team ERA, 3rd in MLB, and had the 3rd best defense in the league, notching +67 defensive runs saved (DRS). It is very likely that OF’s Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu pick up their 2nd and 3rd straight Gold Gloves respectively, while 3B Caleb Durbin adds his first to his trophy case. Yay, woohoo, good job. Except pitching and defense doesn’t win you games in the postseason.
In October, you face every team's best pitchers more. No more beating up on the 4th and 5th starter and seeing the dregs of the bullpen. You have to hit, and more specifically, you have to hit for power. 1B Willson Contreras led the team in dingers with 27 of them. The last team to win the World Series with their leader being under 30 was the 2015 Royals. 11 years ago in a much different era. Just off of this stat, the Red Sox weren’t a true contender. It was telling, as in September, the team scored just 71 runs in 24 games, the worst mark in all of baseball.
In this past offseason, I was a huge advocate for Boston to pick up Pete Alonso. We needed a true power-hitting bat, especially with Rafael Devers traded and Alex Bregman leaving to the Cubs in free agency. Alonso is the Mets all-time home run leader and surpassed 300 career homers in 2026 as a member of the Orioles. Breslow offered him 3-years, $85 million (28.3 AAV). Alonso turned that down and went to Baltimore on a 5-year, $155 million (31 AAV) deal, a contract the Red Sox definitely could have offered.
Fun fact: in the history of MLB, only one person has led both the AL and the NL in RBIs during a season. It’s Pete Alonso; he smashed 43 HR and 113 RBI, both leading the AL in 2026. Contreras is a fine player, an emotional leader of the team, but he is no anchor for the lineup. That's what this team desperately needs.
Like I said earlier, the main issue that hampered this team down the stretch not just in 2026, but also in 2025, was the lack of offense. The squad lacks an engine. Their former engine, Rafael Devers, gets compared a lot to their new man in the hot corner, Durbin. In comparison to what this team really needs, Devers blows Durbin out of the water. Yes, if you look at bWAR (baseball-reference’s wins-above-replacement), Durbin (4.4 bWAR) has a 0.8 WAR advantage on Devers (3.6 bWAR) for 2026, but 1.8 of Durbin’s comes from defense. The Red Sox need an anchor in the lineup. Devers smashed a career high 37 bombs to go with 97 RBI and an .865 OPS. Oh, and his new home park in San Fran is the hardest to hit in. Devers hit 19 HR and 62 RBI at Oracle Park in 2026. It's safe to say he is still a Top-10-15ish bat in the league. It is a shame we don’t have him. Yeah, Durbin is a fine player, but he will never be the bat like Rafael Devers i, and right now, as the Red Sox have shown, the team needs a bat like Raffy Devers in the lineup every damn game. Nobody can argue that.
Another disappointment was going all in for Orioles C Adley Rutschman. The former #1 draft pick and #1 overall prospect was an All-Star this year, but his numbers don’t reflect that. Rutschman hit .251 with 8 homers in Baltimore, and just .222 with 5 in Boston. He has one year left on his contract, but with the inevitable lockout this offseason, and no timetable for it, there is a possibility that the Red Sox sent out prospects RHPs Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, two Top-100 prospects, along with Boston’s 5th ranked prospect, OF Enddy Azocar, and 13th ranked prospect OF Harold Rivas, for just a half-season of mediocre play from Rutschman.
At the moment, I didn’t hate the trade, but that was a gross overpay for an overrated player when Marlins C Liam Hicks was on the table for much less. The Rays got Hicks for their 16th, 26th and 27th ranked prospects. Hicks hit .282 with 14 dingers for Miami and hit .288 with 4 bombs for Tampa. He's also under control till 2030. It's safe to say that Breslow missed the mark here and that the Rays cooked.
The Red Sox went 87-75 this year. Last season they went 89-73, yet they have nothing to show for it besides a 1-4 postseason record and a disgusting -19 run differential. They finished 3rd in all three seasons with Breslow. They failed to build upon the postseason berth of ‘25 in a wide open AL. All the moves they made were for what?
LHP Ranger Suarez was brought in as the “big ticket” free agent at 5-years $130 million because of his 1.48 ERA in the postseason. He didn’t pitch against the Yankees.
What's even more confounding is that the Red Sox haven’t even played well against teams above .500 over the last two seasons. They have gone 72-88 (.450 winning %), and were even worse in 2026 at 28-45 (.384 winning %). If you want to look at their records strictly against the playoff teams from the last two seasons, they went 24-22 and 37-36 in ‘25 and ‘26, respectively. That isn’t great either.
The fact of the matter is that the Red Sox weren’t a good team this season. They just had one amazing, historic month and they bought at the deadline instead of selling to get pieces that would help the future, and all of this for what? To say you got throttled by your biggest rival again, in even worse fashion? The Wild Card isn’t a participation trophy. Now, you go into the lockout offseason with no direction, insane amounts of confusion, and Breslow and Tracy locked into 3-year contract extensions off of an emotional connection to this summer. Not because of substance. That isn't smart. It's risky.
It’s clear that owner John Henry doesn’t care anymore. The team doesn't spend like a big market should anymore. Boston ranked 12th in total payroll this year at just under $200 million. That's not going to cut it. In 2021 (the last good Sox team), they ranked 6th. In the amazing 2018 season they were 1st. It's time for Henry to sell. If you didn’t hate Henry’s guts already, he is the Chairman of Major League Baseball's Media Committee (formerly MLB’s Business Board). So if we have half a season or no season at all in 2027, he is going to be a big reason why.
Now, I won’t say anything on Breslow’s lack of communication skills, as I have enough in the past, but there was a lot coming out in 2026 about his use of analytics, which wasn’t spoken about in 2025, and what was even more shocking was that it was his players speaking against it. I will let Willson Contreras and sports journalist Joon lee take it away from here…
Yikes. It's one thing for a journalist to say that a team's analysics are bad, but to say they don't even use the right kind, and to have a star player speak out against it too? That's even worse. Not a great look for the BresBot.
Gordo's Thoughts:
Don’t just hear it from me. I reached out to “Play Tessie” co-host, and one of my favorite Red Sox sources out there, Nat Gordon. Better known as Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo on X), he is the best one-stop-shop out there for news, opinions, and overall thoughts on the team. I asked him a couple questions and he gave me great answers that sum up the majority of Red Sox nation.
I first asked him his thoughts on how much of this unfortunate ending was Breslow’s fault, and if he still believes that Breslow is the right man for the job. He detailed:
Breslow making a major unpopular decision in firing Cora and the coaching staff and being proven right with the 32-5 turnaround was a great reflection on the lead executive and his conviction. For them to not advance further than where they were a year ago, with all they’ve invested the last couple years (2 enormous trades, 2 other big trades, and a 9-figure FA deal) and with this weak AL, was not a good reflection on the lead executive, even if there were injuries (though their opponent was missing their best player so it’s a tough excuse). It was always gonna take time on the job with Breslow, a guy who wasn’t the lead or second or third in command in any front office before coming here. I think he’s got a lot to learn still. But I think he’s improving and is still, today, the best they can do in that chair. Even if his options (on his contract) weren’t picked up and to be honest even if they didn’t turn their season around I would not have moved on from him this offseason.
The one thing that really sticks out to me is how Gordo mentions the lack of experience that Breslow has. I think that is pretty crazy considering the magnitude of some of the trades he has made. I would say that I am pretty extreme in my opinion of Breslow, but it is refreshing to see someone like Gordo’s opinion, as he does think that Breslow can be the right guy, but also acknowledges that the ending of this season is a reflection of Breslow and his leadership.
I also asked him about what he thinks Breslow's future is looking if the team disappoints again next year. Now, of course with the lockout likely to happen, we don't know what 2027 will look like, or if there will even be a season at all. Gordo explained his thoughts:
I think it’ll take context to tell. I don’t think them picking up the options (on his contract) makes him 100% safe. I don’t think anyone ever is especially with how little they make money wise compared to players. But they (ownership) clearly want continuity and believe in what he’s doing, so I’d be really surprised if he’s not here this time a year from now.
I loved this explanation. Of course, if there was a regular offseason and Breslow did nothing to supplement the roster and the team flopped again, then there would be some serious conversations about him being on the hot seat. However, if the lockout drags on and we only have say a 100 game season, then I think you can't judge it too much. It is a big offseason either way for Breslow and his front office.
Once again, I would like to give a huge shout out to Gordo, he is the best guy out there for Red Sox news. Give him a follow!
Final Thoughts:
I never thought Breslow was going to be a good head of the team, and I surely didn’t after the Devers trade. I still don’t think he is the right man for the job now. He can’t sign big free agents (be honest with yourself, Suarez isn’t a big free agent, and Bregman had Alex Cora’s fingerprints all over it). He makes stupid trades like the Devers and Chris Sale ones. Damn, we could use them both so badly right now. He inherited a top-5 farm system in MLB only to gut it for just Garrett Crochet and Adley Rutschman. He hasn’t produced a 90-win ballclub, or a playoff series win, and worst of all, the free agent class for 2026-2027 isn’t great. Does Randy Arozarana excite you? Does Seiya Sezuki really add thump to the lineup? No. I said this earlier in the summer that I truly don’t believe the Red Sox will win another ring until they get a new front office. I stand by that today.
The Red Sox are in a tricky position. Not good enough to compete for a title. Not bad enough to justify a full rebuild. They don’t have the prospects to swing a deal for a superstar bat (*cough* why would anyone trade a superstar bat for pennies on the dollar). They are unfortunately looking at 3 more years of BresBot and Tracy running the team with BS spreadsheets and algorithms that clearly don’t work when the games mean the most. Worst of all, John Henry will probably never sell and will own the team to his grave, pulling the organization and the fans down with him. I love the Boston Red Sox and always will, but there is no trust. There is no hope for change. As the winter looms, the brutal blizzard of a lockout looms larger. The spring seems lightyears away, and with it, the dream of another ring.
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