With the Red Sox beginning to get back to full health with the additions of Masataka Yoshida and Alex Bregman, the roster is beginning to feel overcrowded. To help deal with it, the versatility of many players will be important down the stretch to not just give some players rest but to also get others into the lineup outside of their main position.
Per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, Alex Cora said on Friday before game two of a four game series against the Tampa Bay Rays that rookie Marcelo Mayer will play a lot of games at second base while still getting some time at third base on days Bregman doesn’t play. If Bregman sticks to the current plan, he will play in two games in each of the next three series against Tampa Bay, the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.
Ceddanne Rafaela is another player who will be moved around with the roster currently having six outfielders on it. Cora also said that Rafaela will be looked at to play second base at least once or twice a week.
The Red Sox look to end the first half on an impressive run as they go for their eighth straight win tonight. Does the plan to rotate Mayer between second and third seem like a good one? Should Rafaela remain in center field only? Leave your thoughts down below.
With September officially here, MLB rosters can officially be expanded to 28 players (14 pitchers max). The Red Sox have done just that, as they have added pitcher Zack Kelly and catcher Ali Sánchez to the active roster according to MassLive's Christopher Smith.
Kelly has been shuttled this season between Boston and Worcester with a stint on the injured list as well. His last appearance with Boston was on June 29 against the Toronto Blue Jays, where he would end up leaving with an injury.
Overall on the season, Kelly has appeared in 17 games for Boston going 1-3 with a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings pitched. He’s been a victim of poor luck, as shown by his expected ERA being 3.70 and his FIP being 3.65. With Worcester, he’s appeared in 21 games and produced a 6.15 ERA in 26 1/3 innings pitched.
Sánchez was previously acquired by Boston on August 8 when Carlos Narváez was banged up. Serving as the third catcher, Sánchez appeared in just one game as a defensive replacement before getting designated for assignment. After refusing an assignment to Worcester, Sánchez became a free agent and signed with the New York Mets. On August 31, he was traded back to Boston by the Mets and was assigned to the Worcester Red Sox this morning before being activated to the major league roster.
To make room for Sánchez on the 40-Man roster, Marcelo Mayer was transferred to the 60-Day injured list.
Both players will be active starting today as the Red Sox open the final month of the season against the Cleveland Guardians.
With the need to open up a roster spot for the eventual activation of Alex Bregman from the injured list, the Boston Red Sox are optioning David Hamilton to Worcester per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.
Hamilton, who has appeared in 61 games this season has struggled at the plate after putting up a respectable 2024 season that was cut short by injury. This season the speedy infielder has managed to hit only .179/.229/.276 in 123 at-bats. He also has three doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs to go along with 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts.
With Bregman likely being activated for Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays it seemed that either Hamilton or rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer were going to be optioned back to Worcester. In the end the team decided to hold onto Mayer due to his fantastic defense at third base, shortstop and second base along with his timely hitting.
Bregman’s addition will be a huge addition to an offense that has been on a roll and helped propel Boston onto a seven-game winning stream and having won nine of their last 10 games.
Do you think the Red Sox optioned the right player? Should Mayer be in Worcester getting everyday at-bats? Leave your thoughts below in the comments.
Following a disappointing 2025 season, the New York Mets parted ways with Jeremy Hefner, who had served as the team's pitching coach for six seasons.
Will Sammon of The Athletic is reporting that Boston Red Sox Director of Pitching Justin Willard is "emerging as the favorite" to become the next New York Mets Pitching Coach.
Willard, who has been in various roles in Major League Baseball since 2017, has been the Red Sox Director of Pitching for each of the last two seasons. He advocates for blending analytics and biomechanics with practical coaching instincts, focusing on maximizing a pitcher's best pitches while ensuring consistent strike-throwing. In a conversation with Ian Browne of MLB.com, Willard's philosophy is simple: "Throw nasty stuff in the zone."
The Red Sox pitching staff was one of the best units in baseball in 2025, sporting a 3.98 FIP (10th) and an 18.4 fWAR (7th), though it posted a below-average 13.5% K-BB rate (18th).
How do you think Willard's departure would impact the 2026 Red Sox pitching staff? Let us know in the comments!
On Wednesday, MLB notified teams of their bonus pool and pick values for the 2026 Draft. The Red Sox rank 23rd with a total of $8,219,000 across nine picks. Their first round selection (20th overall) accounts for more than half of that value ($4,373,900).
Round
Pick
Slot Value
1
20
$4,373,900
CB-B
67
$1,317,300
3
96
$815,700
5
156
$454,100
6
185
$352,900
7
214
$278,700
8
244
$227,200
9
274
$205,400
10
304
$194,000
As a brief refresher, two of the Red Sox’s offseason moves impacted their spending power. The Red Sox received the 67th pick in the supplemental second round (CB-B) in the Caleb Durbin and Kyle Harrison trade. After signingRanger Suarez five-year, $150 million contract, they lost their second and fifth picks and $1 million from their international bonus pool.
The 2026 MLB Draft is scheduled for July 11 to 13.
The 2026 MLB season is right around the corner, and we're looking to expand our video coverage. Have you ever considered being on-camera and talking about the Red Sox? If yes, we'd love to talk to you about it.
Our videos are typically in a wide variety of styles: breaking news, analysis, and historical study. We're open to any and all ideas as long as they're centered around the Boston Red Sox. We're looking for serious baseball talk, so leave the hot takes at home.
If you'd like to learn more about this cool little side gig, please email Brock Beauchamp at brock.beauchamp@talksox.com.
Here is an example of a recent Red Sox video from us:
It's hard to predict how this offseason will unfold, as there is an increasing chance of (yet another) MLB lockout following the 2026 season. Will teams spend big this offseason, hoping to create surety in the face of an unknown collective bargaining agreement? Or will they be hesitant in hopes of a favorable outcome for ownership groups?
No matter how it shakes out, teams will need to compete in the 2026 season, and they'll need to sign free agents this winter. DiamondCentric has compiled a complete list of free agents, sortable and searchable by pretty much any metric you need. Looking for a first baseman? A catcher? We have you covered. We offer two pages for your reference: one for position players, the other for pitchers.
The Boston Red Sox have placed reliever Justin Slaten on the 15-day injured list with a right oblique strain. To replace him in the bullpen, the team has called up LHP Tyler Samaniego before the series finale with the Brewers.
Alex Cora revealed in his media availability after the 3-2 win on Tuesday that Slaten was dealing with soreness on his right side but hesitated to call it an oblique injury at the time. Now, we have conformation that Slaten will be missing time while he heals up. While Slaten has been useful out of the pen, his injury history isn't exactly brief, so it's disheartening to see him go down again so early in the year.
Samaniego has appeared in three games for the WooSox, posting a 3.38 ERA with three strikeouts and a 1.31 WHIP over 5 1/3 innings. He was impressive in spring training after he fully recovered from some initial back issues. His fastball tops out at 97 mph but he lacks a solid secondary pitch at the moment. With some development, he could be an incredibly useful arm out of the bullpen down the stretch. Expect to see him serve as an up-and-down reliever for the entirety of the season.
Justin Slaten landing on the IL again is not great news for a team already pushing their bullpen to the maximum this early in the season, but Samaniego has the opportunity to show that his strong spring was more than just a fluke once he arrives in Boston.
After a season where the Boston Red Sox fell short of expectations, they've had a very busy start to the offseason with option decisions. These decisions have started to paint the picture of what the 2025-2026 offseason may hold and what needs to be done to the roster to meet their goals for next season.
One of the bigger questions they're tasked with is figuring out the plans at first base. After a devastating knee injury to Triston Casas, first base was a bit of a merry-go-round with Nathaniel Lowe and Romy Gonzalez getting a bulk of the reps in the second half of the season. While both players are controllable in 2026, Casas is hoping to be healthy by the time Spring Training rolls around. However, at the end of the season, in an interview with Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow was non-committal to Casas's future, stating, "I don’t think it makes a ton of sense on October 6 to say someone is or isn’t our first baseman. We’ll see how things play out..."
Ultimately, it's those comments that may have prompted the cryptic message from Casas:
Casas, who was struggling at the plate prior to his injury, is projected for a very team-friendly $1.7 million salary in his first year of arbitration.
What do you think he means in his Instagram post? Should the Red Sox move on from him? Join the conversation in the comments!
The Boston Red Sox continue to receive bad news regarding starting pitcher Kutter Crawford who was dealing with worst pain earlier this month.
Now, Tim Healey of the Boston Globe is reporting that the 29 year old need wrist surgery and is "likely done for the year".
It's a frustrating development for Crawford who started the season dealing with soreness in the patellar tendon of his right knee. He had previously been placed on the 60-day IL where he is expected fo stay for the majority and maybe now the entirety of the 2025 season.
It's another tough blow to the Red Sox struggling rotation - a position group they'll need to bolster at the trade deadline if they intend to make a push for the playoffs in the second half of the season.
With bad news continuing to rain down on the season, should the Red Sox be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline? Join the conversation in the comments!
While the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers continue to battle it out in the World Series, the Boston Red Sox have begun to build up depth for the 2026 season. Late Sunday night, the team came to an agreement with free agent catcher Jason Delay on a minor league deal according to MassLive's Chris Cotillo. It was first reported by Just Baseball Media's Aram Leighton.
Delay, who has played parts of three seasons in the majors, will immediately slot in as the third catcher on the depth chart behind Carlos Narváez and Connor Wong. Delay will turn 31 in March and was drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He would go on to make his major league debut in 2022 and play in 134 games between then and 2024. Across that span, he hit .231/.295/.315 with 20 doubles, one triple, two home runs and 35 RBIs. In 2025, he split time with Atlanta‘s Double-A and Triple-A teams. In truth, Delay's glove is what he's better known for, as he was a strong framer in 2022 and 2023 while also throwing out 16 baserunners during his time in the majors.
While the details of the contract are currently unknown, it is likely Delay has received a non-roster invite to spring training. The move, however, is more about acquiring depth at Triple-A in the event of a potential injury.
Trevor Story is hosting his informal “Story Camp” this week, and some familiar faces have joined the shortstop in Texas.
Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Connor Wong, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, and Mikey Romero appear in all of the social media posts surrounding the event. When the first Story Camp was announced a few seasons ago, it seemed like a way for the veteran shortstop to connect with and mentor younger players while he was rehabbing from injury. Now though, it seems to be transforming into something different.
With Duran, Wong, and Casas all being present. it showcases them putting in the extra work to improve on down or lost seasons in 2025. It also gives them more opportunities to work with members of the young core in Anthony and Mayer. Romero is penciled in to be the starting shortstop for the WooSox this season and working with Story can only help him improve at the position. Should Story go down with an injury, it’s likely Romero will be one of the first names called up to the big-league roster.
Story Camp is a way for Trevor Story to further mentor the up-and-coming talent in the system. We can all hope that this extra time together will translate to positive results on the field in 2026.
It was indeed a short stay in the injured list for Sonny Gray.
The right-hander was activated from the 15-day injured list by the Boston Red Sox so he could start Wednesday's series finale vs. the Detroit Tigers. Gray had been sidelined since April 21 due to a strained right hamstring, meaning it was exactly a 15-day absence. Left-hander Alec Gamboa was sent to Triple-A Worcester.
Gray's return to the rotation comes at a time when ace left-hander Garrett Crochet is on the IL with left shoulder inflammation and left-hander Ranger Suarez's status is up in the air as he deals with tightness in his right hamstring.
Before the injury, Gray had made five starts with a 4.49 FIP (4.30 ERA) with a very nice 5.1% walk rate and a below-average 13.1% strikeout rate. Gray had a 26.7% strikeout rate a year ago.
Gamboa was called up Monday and made his MLB debut Tuesday, pitching a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts.
In desperate need of infield depth, the Boston Red Sox got a familiar face back.
The Red Sox activated Romy Gonzalez off the 60-day injured list and inserted him into the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the rival New York Yankees. Third-string catcher Mickey Gasper was optioned to Triple-A Worcester and outfielder Roman Anthony was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to make room for Gonzalez on the 40-man roster.
The Anthony transaction was simply a paperwork move as he has already missed nearly 60 days after going on the IL retroactive to May 5.
Gonzalez, who can play first base, second base and third base, underwent surgery on his left shoulder in spring training. He had a bit of a scare when he sustained a hip flexor injury during his rehab assignment last weekend while playing at Triple-A, but it turned out to be nothing and he wrapped up preparing to return to the Red Sox this week.
His bat will be a nice addition to the Red Sox's offense. Last year, Gonzalez slashed .305/.343/.483 with nine homers and 53 RBIs in 96 games.
Gasper has appeared in 34 games for the Red Sox this year, slashing .243/.305/.308 with no homers and seven RBIs.
Despite being in last place in the AL East, the Boston Red Sox are sending two players to the All-Star Game.
Left-handed closer Aroldis Chapman and left-handed starter Ranger Suarez were named to the AL roster for the July 14 All-Star Game at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park. It is the ninth trip to the All-Star Game for Chapman and the second for Suarez, who played his first eight seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Chapman, a two-time AL Reliever of the Year, has 17 saves in 27 appearances this season with a 2.10 ERA. Chapman just surpassed Hoyt Wilhelm record for career strikeouts by a reliever with his 1,364th.
Suarez will be heading back to Philadelphia sporting a 2.94 ERA in 16 starts, posting a 7.2% walk rate and 25.5% strikeout rate.
The nine starters for each team were determined by two rounds of fan balloting, with Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement getting automatically selected to start by virtue of leading the first round in the NL and AL, respectively.
The uneven start to the season for Boston Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story has hit a pothole.
Story is reportedly being placed on the 10-day injured list, likely due to the minor groin issue that he has been dealing with most of the season. Infielder Nick Sogard was called up from Triple-A Worcester. Andruw Monasterio is likely to get a bulk of the time at shortstop in Story's absence.
The oft-injured Story, coming off his first healthy season since 2021, has struggled at the plate and in the field this year. He has a .206/.244/.303 slash line with three homers and 19 RBIs in 41 games. This comes after a 25-homers, 96-RBI season in which he slashed .263/.308/.433.
Sogard will be seeing his first action of the season with the Red Sox after a combined 61 games over the last two years in which he had a slash line of .266/.321/.335 with no homers and 17 RBIs. He was slashing .269/.417/.454 at Triple-A this year with five homers and 23 RBIs.
In a bad news, good news situation, the Boston Red Sox are losing one of their top relievers, right-hander Garrett Whitlock for the next two weeks. The good news is the injury doesn't appear to be as serious as it could have been.
The Red Sox on Thursday placed Whitlock on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his left knee and called up left-handed reliever Tyler Samaniego from Triple-A Worcester. Whitlock was injured on his first warmup pitch as he entered Sunday's game, a 6-5 walk-off loss to the Minnesota Twins. The conditions were not ideal, with rain making the mound muddy and slippery. Whitlock said he hyperextended the knee.
However, he stayed in to pitch in the top of the sixth with two outs and runners on first and second. The usually reliable Whitlock gave up a tying double and a two-run go-ahead single before getting the final out of the inning.
Whitlock has made 20 appearances over 19⅔ innings, with a 3.20 ERA, six walks and 25 strikeouts.
Samaniego is in his third stint with the Red Sox this season, his first in the bigs. He has been excellent across 18 appearances, posting a 1.04 ERA in 17⅓ innings, with seven walks and 13 strikeouts.
Second baseman Marcelo Mayer was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday by the Boston Red Sox due to a stress reaction to the left ulna. Shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng was called up from Triple-A Worcester to make his Red Sox debut.
Mayer has been dealing with the forearm issue for a couple months, but it got to the point where the Red Sox decided to shut Mayer down. The Red Sox now have six infielders on the IL, including three on the 60-day IL (Trevor Story, Triston Casas, Romy Gonzalez). Gonzalez, on the mend from surgery on his left shoulder, could return this weekend against the New York Yankees. He was scheduled to play in a rehab assignment for Worcester on Friday. In addition, third baseman Caleb Durbin has a partially dislocated left pinkie finger that he is currently playing through.
Mayer is slashing .220/.282/.312 with three homers and 22 RBIs in 70 games this season.
Cheng, who bounced around the waiver wire this offseason before finally sticking with the Red Sox, made his MLB debut last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, going 0-for-7 in three games. At Worcester this year, Cheng has a .254/.351/.424 slash line with seven homers, 18 RBIs and 10 steals in 64 games.
The Brayan Bello situation has taken another turn.
The Boston Red Sox demoted Bello to Triple-A Worcester following yet another bad start by the right-hander Thursday, according to multiple reports.
The move came after Bello allowed eight runs over five innings in an 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Six of those runs came in the first inning. It was the second game this season in which the 27-year-old has allowed eight runs, with another start yielding seven runs and yet another six runs. That is four of his 12 appearances this year, eight of which have been starts. The Red Sox have also tried using an opener for Bello, who is in the third year of a six-year, $55 million contract.
When questioned by the media about his role on the team and whether he would be better off in the bullpen or the minors, Bello took exception.
Brayan Bello on whether the big league rotation -- as opposed to the bullpen or Triple-A -- is the right place for him to navigate his struggles:
Bello has a 6.34 ERA and entered Thursday's game with an 8.2% walk rate and a 15.6% strikeout rate. While the walk rate is very close to the MLB average of 8.4% and just off his career mark of 8.3%, his strikeout rate is the worst of his career, below the 15.6% for his career and the MLB average of 22.4%. Opponents are also hitting .310 vs. Bello, the worst mark since his rookie season of .315.
It was already a busy day on the pitching side for the Red Sox, who promoted right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle before the game and then traded for left-handed reliever Joe La Sorsa, who was in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization and will be added to the roster prior to Friday's series opener against the New York Yankees. La Sorsa is an easy swap for Bello's spot on the 26-man roster, but a 40-man move will need to be made.
While awaiting word on the severity of the injury, the Boston Red Sox placed right-handed starter Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a strained right hamstring.
Gray was injured in Monday's Patriots Day game against the Detroit Tigers, leaving in the third inning of an 8-6 victory. He was set to undergo imaging Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury.
Left-handed reliever Tyler Samaniego was called up from Triple-A Worcester. This is Samaniego's second stint with the Red Sox this season. He came up April 8 and made his MLB debut that day against the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching a scoreless inning with three strikeouts and a walk. He pitched 3⅔ innings in three games, without allowing a run, walking three and striking out four.
Gray, acquired in the offseason via trade from the St. Louis Cardinals as a rotation stabilizer, had a 4.30 ERA in five starts, walking five and striking out 13 in 23 innings. The Red Sox will need to find a replacement in the rotation for Gray, perhaps left-hander Payton Tolle.
The Red Sox open a three-game series at Fenway Park today against the rival New York Yankees.
However it happened, Tommy Kahnle is back on an MLB roster.
The right-handed reliever was called up by the Boston Red Sox from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday and left-handed reliever Tyler Samaniego was optioned to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, shortstop Trevor Story (sports hernia) was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.
The 36-year-old Kahnle signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox late in spring training, March 19, and had a June 1 opt-out close if he was not brought up to the majors. The Red Sox had to make a decision by Thursday on whether to add Kahnle after he triggered the opt-out clause. He also had an upward mobility clause in his contract that he exercised in May, but he did not receive an MLB job.
At Triple-A this season, Kahnle appeared in 18 games and covered 19⅓ innings, putting up a 1.40 ERA and converting all five save opportunities. He walked 11 and struck out 21.
Kahnle was with the Detroit Tigers in 2025, when he posted a 4.43 ERA over 66 appearances (63 innings) with an 11.6% walk rate and 18.7% strikeout rate, both below average.
Samaniego, who made his MLB debut this season, has appeared in 20 games over 20⅓ innings, with a 2.66 ERA. He walked eight and struck out 17.
Moving Story to the 60-day IL was simply a paperwork move. There has not been a setback.
The Boston Red Sox continue to shuffle their pitching staff.
Right-hander Jack Anderson was called up by the Red Sox from Triple-A Worcester on Friday, with left-handed starter Jake Bennett being sent back to Triple-A.
Anderson, who is in his second stint this season with the Red Sox, has started three of his five appearances at Worcester, but all three of his games in the majors have been in a relief role, including his MLB debut. The Red Sox have not officially named a starter for Saturday or Sunday, the final two games of the series vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. It is possible Anderson appears in either role Saturday and is sent back down for a fresh arm for Sunday.
Anderson has allowed three runs on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts with the Red Sox. At Triple-A, he allowed nine runs on 21 hits, including four homers, with three walks and 17 strikeouts in 18 innings.
Bennett made two starts as he also had his MLB debut. He gave up five runs on 11 hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 10⅓ innings.
A big piece of the Boston Red Sox's bullpen is back.
Right-handed reliever Garrett Whitlock was activated off the 15-day injured list Tuesday by the Red Sox, who optioned infielder Anthony Seigler back to Triple-A Worcester. Whitlock had been out since May 28 (retroactive to May 25) with inflammation in his right knee, meaning this was a minimum IL stint.
Whitlock, one of the top setup men in MLB, has a 2.80 FIP (3.20 ERA) over 20 appearances and 19⅔ innings with a 7.4% walk rate and 30.9% strikeout rate.
Seigler was called up Wednesday and played in two goings, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a strikeout. At Triple-A, Seigler is slashing .298/.425/.471.
In what promises to be a busy weekend for bullpen moves, the Boston Red Sox have swapped out another arm.
The Red Sox on Saturday activated right-handed reliever Justin Slaten from the 15-day injured list and optioned right-handed reliever Jack Anderson to Triple-A Worcester. Slaten was on the IL since April 8 with a strained right oblique.
Anderson had just been called up Friday and didn't pitch in a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox entered the weekend without a designated starter for the Saturday and Sunday games. Left-hander Payton Tolle is starting today.
Slaten appeared in four games and didn't allow an earned run in 3⅓ innings, walking two and striking out five. He posted a 4.24 ERA in 36 appearances with the Red Sox last year after a 2.93 ERA in 44 games in 2024.
The playoffs haven't even started yet, but the Red Sox were dealt a tough blow Monday afternoon as manager Alex Cora announced that starting pitcher Lucas Giolito would not be on the roster for the Wild Card series.
Cora believes that the right-hander has been dealing with an elbow issue his past few starts according to the Boston Globe's Alex Speier, but now it's gotten to the point where Giolito had to cut short his latest bullpen session. The right-hander is getting evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon, though any issue with the elbow is not good considering he had elbow surgery in 2024 that cost him the entire season.
The news is a big loss for the Red Sox, as Giolito was a constant presence in the rotation after returning from the injured list on April 30. In 26 starts, he would end up going 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA across 145 innings. He also struck out 121 batters in that span while opponents hit just .239 against him.
While the official roster hasn't been announced just yet, it is likely a possible Game 3 would be started by either Kyle Harrison or Connelly Early.