A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Hoskins saves the Sox a lot of $$$ and has a swing tailor made for Fenway. 

Tyler O'Neill's ISO in '22, '23 and '25 was under 200 but popped at Fenway. 

I'm not against these ideas, but I have my sights set higher. As a secondary move or two, fine, but I want one major bat addition.

[Larry Cook]

On 10/11/2025 at 3:06 PM, notin said:

That doesn’t exclude him from SS.  If Story loves to 2b, Mayer is most likely the SS…

If we want to put Mayer in the best possible position to succeed in 2026, seems like 3b or 2B makes the most sense. 
 

[notin]

5 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

If we want to put Mayer in the best possible position to succeed in 2026, seems like 3b or 2B makes the most sense. 
 

It’s not about making Mayer succeed; it’s about making the Red Sox succeed…

[Larry Cook]

2026 roster prediction (number 1) 

catchers - Wong and narveaz. (Wong was injured in 2025, I think he bounces back big time.) 

1b - Casas 

SS/2b - story 

SS - Bichete 

2B/SS/3b - Mayer 

Utility - romy and sogard 

LF -Anthony 

CF - rafeala 

RF - abreau 

4th -  Garcia 

dh - yoshida 

rotation 

1.) crochet 

2.) sale 

3.) king

4.) bello

5.) early 

bullpen 

Chapman 

slaten 

Whitlock 

weissert 

Keller

kopech

hicks 

Bernardino 

 

 

[Larry Cook]

16 minutes ago, notin said:

It’s not about making Mayer succeed; it’s about making the Red Sox succeed…

Seems to me if Mayer succeeds, the Red Sox share in that success as well 

[moonslav59]

4 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Seems to me if Mayer succeeds, the Red Sox share in that success as well 

If Mayer is better at SS and Story at 2B, that would help the team win more, right?

I'm fine with Mayer at 3B. I'd rather have Story at 2B than Mayer.

I'd like Bichette, but he'd be too costly and his D is sketchy at SS. Mayer is probably better on D than he is.

[mvp 78]

10 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

If Mayer is better at SS and Story at 2B, that would help the team win more, right?

I'm fine with Mayer at 3B. I'd rather have Story at 2B than Mayer.

I'd like Bichette, but he'd be too costly and his D is sketchy at SS. Mayer is probably better on D than he is.

Bo Bichette wouldn't be as highly thought of if he had a different last name. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

44 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Bo Bichette wouldn't be as highly thought of if he had a different last name. 

Move Bo Derrick to 3B, Mayer SS, Story 2B, Diaz 1B. The corner bats can carry the middle D.

[notin]

16 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Seems to me if Mayer succeeds, the Red Sox share in that success as well 

Not if the new shortstop is some Edgar Renteria level disaster. As you previously suggested Bo Bichette, a very poor defensive shortstop, you might see it happen.

And Bichette would be a good bat for Boston.  But he is the one who should be playing 2b or (better yet) 3b…

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Bo Bichette wouldn't be as highly thought of if he had a different last name. 

First of all, his dad is the rather forgettable Dante Bichette.  Cavan Biggio is the nepo baby you’re confusing him with.

Second, he can hit. Career OPS+ over 120.

Third, he is currently the only player in MLB whose name rhymes with a Star Wars villain.  At least until Garth Schmader makes his debut…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 minutes ago, notin said:

First of all, his dad is the rather forgettable Dante Bichette.  Cavan Biggio is the nepo baby you’re confusing him with.

Second, he can hit. Career OPS+ over 120.

Third, he is currently the only player in MLB whose name rhymes with a Star Wars villain.  At least until Garth Schmader makes his debut…

Of course, the lone character fluent in Sasquatch becomes the richest, post-movie franchise...

... at least, from the weekly tribute our household pays him to keep our zoo of rescue pets well fed.

[moonslav59]

Replacing an 18-22 HR Bregman with an 18-22 HR Bichette looks like a sideways move that may be even more expensive.

[moonslav59]

If there was some way we could trade Yoshida or have the nerve to bench or demote him, we could go with Duran at DH, Anthony in LF, Rafaela in CF and Abreu in RF. This takes away an opportunity to trade an OF'er for a pitcher, 2Bman or corner IF'er, but one or two FAs should be possible, and we'd probably still need a significant trade to fill one of the 3 priorities.

#SP2

1B

3B or 2B (Mayer or Story fill the other.)

We aren't fill one of these needs with a high quality player by trading DHam, Wink and Sandlin, so it's going to take someone else to headline the deal, like maybe _____?

Campbell 

plus one from...

Crawford, Dobbins, Fitts, Harrison or Perales (or Jh Garcia)

add ons....

DHam, Sandlin, Mullins, Wink, Guerrero or Kelly

I'm not sure we get what we need with an offer like this, but we get to keep Duran and Abreu.

[Old Red]

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

If there was some way we could trade Yoshida or have the nerve to bench or demote him, we could go with Duran at DH, Anthony in LF, Rafaela in CF and Abreu in RF. This takes away an opportunity to trade an OF'er for a pitcher, 2Bman or corner IF'er, but one or two FAs should be possible, and we'd probably still need a significant trade to fill one of the 3 priorities.

#SP2

1B

3B or 2B (Mayer or Story fill the other.)

We aren't fill one of these needs with a high quality player by trading DHam, Wink and Sandlin, so it's going to take someone else to headline the deal, like maybe _____?

Campbell 

plus one from...

Crawford, Dobbins, Fitts, Harrison or Perales (or Jh Garcia)

add ons....

DHam, Sandlin, Mullins, Wink, Guerrero or Kelly

I'm not sure we get what we need with an offer like this, but we get to keep Duran and Abreu.

We didn’t keep Mookie, Bogey, or Raffy, so  Duran, or Abreu shouldn’t be untouchable, or even cause any worry on if either one is kept, or not. Let’s just bring everyone back.🙈

[moonslav59]

Nobody is untouchable or should be, IMO. Offer me more than they are worth, and presto...

[moonslav59]

How about this for a winter plan?

Sign Suarez (1B & back-up 3B) M Kelly & Matz

Trade: Duran & Crawford for Joe Ryan

Trade: Campbell, Tolle & Sandlin for K Marte (I'd try to avoid giving up Tolle by offering Dobbins & Fiits/Harrison/Clarke, but...)

1. L Anthony LF

2. S K Marte 2B

3. L Abreu RF

4. R Suarez 1B

5. L Yoshida/ R Romy DH

6. R Story SS

7. L Mayer 3B

8. R Narvaez C

9. R Rafaela CF

Bench: Wong, Romy/Yoshida, Sogard, Garcia

SP: Crochet, Ryan, Kelly, Bello, Early (Dobbins/Harrison/Fitts/Criswell/Perales/Holobetz/Uberstine)

RP: Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert, Bernardino, Matz, Wink, Hicks (Moran, Kelly, Guerrero, I Campbell/Mullins, Song, Drohan, Hoppe)

[Old Red]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

How about this for a winter plan?

Sign Suarez (1B & back-up 3B) M Kelly & Matz

Trade: Duran & Crawford for Joe Ryan

Trade: Campbell, Tolle & Sandlin for K Marte (I'd try to avoid giving up Tolle by offering Dobbins & Fiits/Harrison/Clarke, but...)

1. L Anthony LF

2. S K Marte 2B

3. L Abreu RF

4. R Suarez 1B

5. L Yoshida/ R Romy DH

6. R Story SS

7. L Mayer 3B

8. R Narvaez C

9. R Rafaela CF

Bench: Wong, Romy/Yoshida, Sogard, Garcia

SP: Crochet, Ryan, Kelly, Bello, Early (Dobbins/Harrison/Fitts/Criswell/Perales/Holobetz/Uberstine)

RP: Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert, Bernardino, Matz, Wink, Hicks (Moran, Kelly, Guerrero, I Campbell/Mullins, Song, Drohan, Hoppe)

I’d wait, and see if Bregman, and, or Story come back to begin with myself, and then see what the plans are for Casas, and, or Masa. Kind of hard to make plans until those situations are worked out IMO.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

I’d wait, and see if Bregman, and, or Story come back to begin with myself, and then see what the plans are for Casas, and, or Masa. Kind of hard to make plans until those situations are worked out IMO.

Bregman is a FA just like anyone else who is, although we can negotiate up until the date all FAs can be.

I'm going on the assumption Story is back, but if not, we'll just add one more high need to the list that I see as being 3 deep, as of now.

Yes, we can wait to talk, but there is no harm in starting now.

[mvp 78]

Campbell and De Leon are off the 40 man now. 

[Old Red]

21 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Bregman is a FA just like anyone else who is, although we can negotiate up until the date all FAs can be.

I'm going on the assumption Story is back, but if not, we'll just add one more high need to the list that I see as being 3 deep, as of now.

Yes, we can wait to talk, but there is no harm in starting now.

I didn’t say there was any harm, and just said for me I’m waiting. The only thing I’ve said is putting Mayer at SS no matter who stays, and who goes.

[moonslav59]

12 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I didn’t say there was any harm, and just said for me I’m waiting. The only thing I’ve said is putting Mayer at SS no matter who stays, and who goes.

Yes, I know you did not say there was harm in talking. 

I'm fine with Mayer at SS, but with his injury history, we need a solid plan B option, even if it means sliding Story back to SS and having a real good back-up at 2B/3B to step in and not kill the team like DHam and Toro almost did.

[notin]

On 10/15/2025 at 12:59 PM, mvp 78 said:

Tell me about Bregman's power. When was the last time his ISO was above 200? 

When was the last time Bregman batted .214?

Hoskins might have better ISOP numbers, but his strikeout-fueled approach still gives him lower overall SLG.

 

[moonslav59]

28 minutes ago, notin said:

When was the last time Bregman batted .214?

Hoskins might have better ISOP numbers, but his strikeout-fueled approach still gives him lower overall SLG.

 

We need to set out sites higher than Bregman, Bichette, Hoskins and Naylor.

Bregman hasn't had a full season with an ISO above .195 since 2019 (.209.)

Hoskins has a .204 ISO since 2022 (.195 since 2023 or 2024.)

Naylor had a .168 ISO, this season and .213 in '24. (.188 '23-'25)

Bichett has not had an ISO above .179 since .186 in '21.

2025 OPS+ (last 3 years)

129 Hoskins (114)

129 Bichette (114)

128 Naylor (125)

128 Bregman (121)

___________________

I think we need to go with one or two from....

2025 ISO/3 year ISO (OPS+/ 3 yr OPS+)

.323/.280 (150/135)  Schwarber

.252/.252 (144/128) Alosno

.243/.223 (126/115 is a bit worrisome) Suarez

.233/.236 (145/141) K Marte (tarde?)

.229/.191 (134/114) Polanco

 

 

[moonslav59]

I Campbell and deLeon passed through waivers and were assigned to AAA. They could end up being some decent depth, and I'm glad we created some roster space.

I don't envision a 40 man roster crunch, even with Houck needed one slot, but we might have a 26 man crunch due to several pitchers out of options: Hicks, Wink, Moran & Criswell

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

We need to set out sites higher than Bregman, Bichette, Hoskins and Naylor.

Bregman hasn't had a full season with an ISO above .195 since 2019 (.209.)

Hoskins has a .204 ISO since 2022 (.195 since 2023 or 2024.)

Naylor had a .168 ISO, this season and .213 in '24. (.188 '23-'25)

Bichett has not had an ISO above .179 since .186 in '21.

2025 OPS+ (last 3 years)

129 Hoskins (114)

129 Bichette (114)

128 Naylor (125)

128 Bregman (121)

___________________

I think we need to go with one or two from....

2025 ISO/3 year ISO (OPS+/ 3 yr OPS+)

.323/.280 (150/135)  Schwarber

.252/.252 (144/128) Alosno

.243/.223 (126/115 is a bit worrisome) Suarez

.233/.236 (145/141) K Marte (tarde?)

.229/.191 (134/114) Polanco

 

 

Of course we need Schwarber and/or Polar Bear. But they're both going to cost a ton of money, and they're both destined to DH into their old ballplayer age...

... and John Henry just got out of his last Raffy contract.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Of course we need Schwarber and/or Polar Bear. But they're both going to cost a ton of money, and they're both destined to DH into their old ballplayer age...

... and John Henry just got out of his last Raffy contract.

That's why I mentioned more than Alonso & Schwarber.

KMarte is a switch hitter with the 4th best OPS vs LHPs since 2024 (200+ PAs.) He's 13th in OPS vs RHPs since 2024 (700+ PAs.) Note: only 4 players have more PAs and a better OPS vs LHPs than Ref and onl6 6 players better than Romy.) KMarte's AAV is $19.6M, which is less than Bregman by over $10M.

Suarez won't be super expensive or get a long deal, so JH could be okay with him. Polanco's contract situation might not be outlandish, either.

[moonslav59]

Imagine signing M Kelly, Polanco & Suarez and somehow dump enough salary from Yoshida and Hicks to keep us under the tax line. (Trading Duran for Lodolo would save another $4M.)

Forget Kelly and just do the Duran trade, and we'd be under the line.

Suarez may suck at 3B, but we could try him at 1B and he could back-up Mayer at 3B.

1. L Anthony LF

2. S Polanco 2B

3. L Duran DH/ R Story SS

4. R Suarez 3B

5. L Abreu RF/ R Romy DH

6. R Story SS/ L Abreu RF (or Ref)

7. R Narvaez C

8. L Mayer 3B

9. R Rafaela CF

 

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

We need to set out sites higher than Bregman, Bichette, Hoskins and Naylor.

Bregman hasn't had a full season with an ISO above .195 since 2019 (.209.)

Hoskins has a .204 ISO since 2022 (.195 since 2023 or 2024.)

Naylor had a .168 ISO, this season and .213 in '24. (.188 '23-'25)

Bichett has not had an ISO above .179 since .186 in '21.

2025 OPS+ (last 3 years)

129 Hoskins (114)

129 Bichette (114)

128 Naylor (125)

128 Bregman (121)

___________________

I think we need to go with one or two from....

2025 ISO/3 year ISO (OPS+/ 3 yr OPS+)

.323/.280 (150/135)  Schwarber

.252/.252 (144/128) Alosno

.243/.223 (126/115 is a bit worrisome) Suarez

.233/.236 (145/141) K Marte (tarde?)

.229/.191 (134/114) Polanco

 

 

What will JH allow tho?

[Bellhorn04]

21 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Nobody is untouchable or should be, IMO. Offer me more than they are worth, and presto...

It just can't be said enough. 😇

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It just can't be said enough. 😇

Brez traded Sale, and traded for Crochet giving up some prospects, so he will make moves. As for signing a high priced FA to a long term contract I’ll believe it when I see it.