A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[notin]

Just now, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Be prepared for posters to scramble to hit Caps Lock before tying replies to such blasphemy after 12 whole games of It's Still Too Early To Panic (I bet if this was posted by a new forum member, guys like moonslav, MVP and notin would be hammering their keyboards right now).

Personally, I have no problem with any suggestions by fans who pay for tickets to Fenway or cable/internet fees for NESN and streaming services. Slow starts suck and when new acquisitions are part of the problem, it's even worse. 

We're not that dumb that we can't see immediately that changes have to be made. Because even though the Red Sox -- with the worst record in baseball -- are only 2 games out of a wild card spot, there are 14 other AL teams ahead of them vying for those 6 postseason berths.

Craig Breslow, who still hasn't completed his roster with all his offseason goals, can actually still make impact moves for Big League BATS if he can find another trade partner in panic mode. Who else has as many top pitching prospects to dangle?????

Absolutely true.

 

But changes that can be undone are not really panic moves.  Durbin has options.  Cheng is on the 40 man.  No DFA required.  It’s really not very different than a benching…

[moonslav59]

4 hours ago, Old Red said:

What, wha, wha. Yes all you say can be true, and especially in Boston. Right now little Anthony looks like he’s not ready to live up to all the hype you, and others have thrown his way, and not the same player who came up last year. Looks like he doesn’t even want to play taking three strikes down the middle of the plate to start a recent game, and not to mention his little League arm. His luster has worn off in a hurry. Hopefully he gets it back sooner than later.

Wha, wha, wha is you at your best. (Think about that.)

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, notin said:

But changes that can be undone are not really panic moves.  Durbin has options.  Cheng is on the 40 man.  No DFA required.  It’s really not very different than a benching…

It may not be "easy" to swap Mayer and Story at SS & 2B, but that would help, too.

Line-up changes are not very impactful, but why not move Abreu to the 2 or 4 slot?

 

[Randy Red Sox]

11 minutes ago, notin said:

Absolutely true.

 

But changes that can be undone are not really panic moves.  Durbin has options.  Cheng is on the 40 man.  No DFA required.  It’s really not very different than a benching…

sending Durbin down would be a disaster since he was the replacement for Bregman

[Randy Red Sox]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

It may not be "easy" to swap Mayer and Story at SS & 2B, but that would help, too.

Line-up changes are not very impactful, but why not move Abreu to the 2 or 4 slot?

 

thank God we didn't trade Abreu.

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, Randy Red Sox said:

thank God we didn't trade Abreu.

True dat!

I don't hear many posters saying that about Duran.

[notin]

27 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I'm afraid mvp had it right about this 2026 team.  Breslow built a team to try to win every game 3-2.  We've already played 4 3-2 games, 1 W and 3 Ls.  

If that was Breslow’s plan, he forgot about the bullpen…

[notin]

19 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

sending Durbin down would be a disaster since he was the replacement for Bregman

Hardly.

First, they’re not DFAing/releasing/trading Durbin.  He will still be with the organization.

Second, name any underperforming player the Sox replaced and it was viewed negatively.

Cheng was brought in to be depth.  Well, taking over as makeshift replacements for struggling players is one of the purposes of depth…

[notin]

16 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

True dat!

I don't hear many posters saying that about Duran.

Duran is 4 for his last 32 and hasn’t had a multi-hit game since opening day.  He’s clearing up the OF logjam in the worst possible way…

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

Duran is 4 for his last 32 and hasn’t had a multi-hit game since opening day.  He’s clearing up the OF logjam in the worst possible way…

...and losing trade value by the week.

[moonslav59]

13 minutes ago, notin said:

If that was Breslow’s plan, he forgot about the bullpen…

We heard this before 2025, too.

I'm not defending the pen neglect, but it worked out okay, last season.

[notin]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We heard this before 2025, too.

I'm not defending the pen neglect, but it worked out okay, last season.

He brought in Chapman last season.  That’s not neglect.

This year it was Ryan Watson and a couple guys as the clock was striking midnight…

[Randy Red Sox]

16 minutes ago, notin said:

Hardly.

First, they’re not DFAing/releasing/trading Durbin.  He will still be with the organization.

Second, name any underperforming player the Sox replaced and it was viewed negatively.

Cheng was brought in to be depth.  Well, taking over as makeshift replacements for struggling players is one of the purposes of depth…

maybe try reading my post before slamming me.  I was responding to a post that said Durbin still had options. WHERE in my post did I say he might be DFA'D??  There is no chance of that.  I also never said any players the Sox replaced that is viewed negatively.  What  I will say is that several of the additions have underperformed. IE: Durbin, Suarez,  Conteras just to name 3.

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

He brought in Chapman last season.  That’s not neglect.

This year it was Ryan Watson and a couple guys as the clock was striking midnight…

Many felt Chapman was not going to be enough. Some even felt Hendriks was going to be or become the closer.

We had lost Jansen & Martin from 2024.

[notin]

17 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

maybe try reading my post before slamming me.  I was responding to a post that said Durbin still had options. WHERE in my post did I say he might be DFA'D??  There is no chance of that.  I also never said any players the Sox replaced that is viewed negatively.  What  I will say is that several of the additions have underperformed. IE: Durbin, Suarez,  Conteras just to name 3.

You did say it would be a “disaster” to send him down, as he was replacing Bregman.  Disaster was your exact word. Now, I did make some assumptions.  For example, I assumed “disaster” was meant to be negative.  
 

I also assumed you didn’t mean it would be a disaster to lose his .314 OPS from an underproducing lineup, and instead that you meant it would be a PR disaster.  Why? He HAS A .314 OPS!  The real PR disaster is leaving him in the lineup as the Sox struggle offensively and do have other internal options that actually are producing.  I think many fans might not mind if he get demoted for a while.
 

Oh, another PR disaster would be doing nothing and hoping things change.  It’s actually a pretty likely course at this stage of the season.  But it’s not a popular one…

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

maybe try reading my post before slamming me.  I was responding to a post that said Durbin still had options. WHERE in my post did I say he might be DFA'D??  There is no chance of that.  I also never said any players the Sox replaced that is viewed negatively.  What  I will say is that several of the additions have underperformed. IE: Durbin, Suarez,  Conteras just to name 3.

Contreras is at .790 and we hoped for about .800.

Good post, though.

[notin]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Many felt Chapman was not going to be enough. Some even felt Hendriks was going to be or become the closer.

We had lost Jansen & Martin from 2024.

But how many felt is moot.  The Sox brought in an experienced albeit possibly worn out MLB relief pitcher.  And it paid off.  This year? Ryan Watson was a Rule 5 pick.  Hardly the same level of attention…

[notin]

35 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

...and losing trade value by the week.

If you go by StatCast, Duran should move to the bench and Yoshida should start and bat very high in the lineup…

[moonslav59]

There has been a lot of talk about all the bad moves Breslow has made since taking over. I'm not defending all of his moves, and most of them are clearly still in the TBD category, but I'd like to see how others grade these trades and transactions:

Major:

Traded Teel, Meidroth, Montgomery & Wikelman for Garret Crochet 

Extended Crochet

Traded Devers for Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs & Jose Bello

Traded Sale + Cash for Vaughn Grissom

Signed Alex Bregman

Signed Lucas Giolito

Signed A Chapman (later extended him)

Extended Brayan Bello, Rafaela, Campbell & Anthony

Traded Clarke, Fitts & Galle for Sonny Gray & $20M

Traded Dobbins, Fajardo & Aita for Willson Contreras + Cash

Signed Walker Buehler

________________________________

Moderate:

Signed Patrick Sandoval

Claimed Romy Gonzalez off waivers

Traded Harrison, DHam & Sandlin for Caleb Durbin. Monasterio & Seigler + Comp pick

Traded Verdugo for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert & N Judice

Traded Santos & Robertson for Tyler O'Neill

Traded ERod for Carlos Narvaez

Traded Ammons for Justin Slaten

Traded Priester for Holobetz, Y Rod & Comp Pick (Marcus Phillips)

Traded Jh Garcia & Travieso for Johan Oviedo, T Samaniego & A Guzman

Traded Tibbs & Ehrhard for Dustin May

Traded Jordan for Steven Matz

Traded Booser for Y Fajardo

Signed Liam Hendriks

Signed Justin Wilson

Signed IKF

Traded Schreiber for David Sandlin

Traded Yorke for Quinn Priester

Traded Coffey, Paulino & Batista for Danny Jansen

Traded M Lugo, Zeferjahn, Kavadas & Vargas for Luis Garcia 

Traded Riemer for Ryan Watson

Traded Luis Perales for Jake Bennett

Traded Sandlin, Hicks, PTBNL + Cash for Gage Ziehl

Traded Guerrero for Tristan Gray, Murphy for R Hernandez, Bernardino for B Ward & Hoppe for L Heyman

___________________________________

Minor:

Traded Urias for I Campbell, cash for Heineman & G Cooper, Bolivar for Paxton, Portes for L Simms, Gasper for Moran, Newcomb for cash, Grissom for I Jackson

Signed: Criswell, Chase Anderson, Dominic Smith, Sean Newcomb

Claimed Gasper & Cheng off waivers

____________________

Did I miss any significant deals?

(Draft and IFA signings not included)

[moonslav59]

43 minutes ago, notin said:

But how many felt is moot.  The Sox brought in an experienced albeit possibly worn out MLB relief pitcher.  And it paid off.  This year? Ryan Watson was a Rule 5 pick.  Hardly the same level of attention…

Yes, Chapman worked out very well. My point was, "We said the same thing last winter."

Many felt replacing Jansen & Martin with Chapman & Wilson was "neglect" or something similar.

IMO, we counted on SP'er depth to fill the 2025 pen needs, and that barely happened due to so many rotation injuries.

[Duran Is The Man]

1 hour ago, Randy Red Sox said:

that is probably because they stayed away from almost all the additions they were said to be in on.

yeah, but Bresloverpay assures us that he was "interested". which makes it all better.

[moonslav59]

31 minutes ago, notin said:

If you go by StatCast, Duran should move to the bench and Yoshida should start and bat very high in the lineup…

Remember, part of the justification for trading Duran for an infielder (or pitching before we added Gray, Oviedo & Suarez) was that the "step down" from Duarn to Yoshida/Romy at DH was not going to be as great as the "step up" at whatever position we filled with the return for Duran.

Now, we may view it as a step up from Duran to Yoshida at DH. Isn't baseball wonderful?

[Duran Is The Man]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I'm afraid mvp had it right about this 2026 team.  Breslow built a team to try to win every game 3-2.  We've already played 4 3-2 games, 1 W and 3 Ls.  

only the Reds and lowly White Sox have scored fewer runs than the Sox. 

some time over the winter, i suggested this team might set the bar for the lowest number of runs scored in a season. and IIRC, i was mocked and scolded for such a suggestion. well....here we are 13 games into the season and even though it's still early, they are on pace to score a whopping 573 runs, which would be, a new all time low. congratulations Craig, you f***ing stiff.

[Duran Is The Man]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

It may not be "easy" to swap Mayer and Story at SS & 2B, but that would help, too.

Line-up changes are not very impactful, but why not move Abreu to the 2 or 4 slot?

 

it is for a manager that's not a f***ing moron.

Today's Lineup

SS Mayer

2b Story

.......

 

See not hard at all.

[Old Red]

18 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

There has been a lot of talk about all the bad moves Breslow has made since taking over. I'm not defending all of his moves, and most of them are clearly still in the TBD category, but I'd like to see how others grade these trades and transactions:

Major:

Traded Teel, Meidroth, Montgomery & Wikelman for Garret Crochet 

Extended Crochet

Traded Devers for Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs & Jose Bello

Signed Alex Bregman

Signed Lucas Giolito

Signed A Chapman (later extended him)

Extended Brayan Bello, Rafaela, Campbell & Anthony

Traded Clarke, Fitts & Galle for Sonny Gray & $20M

Traded Dobbins, Fajardo & Aita for Willson Contreras + Cash

Signed Walker Buehler

________________________________

Moderate:

Signed Patrick Sandoval

Claimed Romy Gonzalez off waivers

Traded Harrison, DHam & Sandlin for Caleb Durbin. Monasterio & Seigler + Comp pick

Traded Verdugo for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert & N Judice

Traded Santos & Robertson for Tyler O'Neill

Traded ERod for Carlos Narvaez

Traded Ammons for Justin Slaten

Traded Priester for Holobetz, Y Rod & Comp Pick (Marcus Phillips)

Traded Jh Garcia & Travieso for Johan Oviedo, T Samaniego & A Guzman

Traded Tibbs & Ehrhard for Dustin May

Traded Jordan for Steven Matz

Traded Booser for Y Fajardo

Signed Liam Hendriks

Signed Justin Wilson

Signed IKF

Traded Schreiber for David Sandlin

Traded Yorke for Quinn Priester

Traded Coffey, Paulino & Batista for Danny Jansen

Traded M Lugo, Zeferjahn, Kavadas & Vargas for Luis Garcia 

Traded Riemer for Ryan Watson

Traded Luis Perales for Jake Bennett

Traded Sandlin, Hicks, PTBNL + Cash for Gage Ziehl

Traded Guerrero for Tristan Gray, Murphy for R Hernandez, Bernardino for B Ward & Hoppe for L Heyman

___________________________________

Minor:

Traded Urias for I Campbell, cash for Heineman & G Cooper, Bolivar for Paxton, Portes for L Simms, Gasper for Moran, Newcomb for cash, Grissom for I Jackson

Signed: Criswell, Chase Anderson, Dominic Smith, Sean Newcomb

Claimed Gasper & Cheng off waivers

____________________

Did I miss any significant deals?

(Draft and IFA signings not included)

How about the significant deals #12 made at the trade deadlines? That’s right my bad he hasn’t made any.🤭

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

How about the significant deals #12 made at the trade deadlines? That’s right my bad he hasn’t made any.🤭

You’re upset with Connor Wong for not making significant deadline trades?

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Old Red said:

How about the significant deals #12 made at the trade deadlines? That’s right my bad he hasn’t made any.🤭

That has been a major sore spot.

Matz has been his best addition, so that says a lot.

How would you grade his overall deal record that was presented?

[notin]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

That has been a major sore spot.

Matz has been his best addition, so that says a lot.

How would you grade his overall deal record that was presented?

F for May/Tibbs.  Everything else I’m fine with to varying degrees.  
 

Is there an “F-“ grade I can switch May/Tibbs to?  

[notin]

4 hours ago, Duran Is The Man said:

it is for a manager that's not a f***ing moron.

Today's Lineup

SS Mayer

2b Story

.......

 

See not hard at all.

Anthony LF

Yoshida DH

Abreu RF

Contreras 1b

Story 2b

Mayer 3b

Rafaela CF

Cheng SS

Narvaez C

 

There you go…

 

 

[moonslav59]

5 hours ago, notin said:

F for May/Tibbs.  Everything else I’m fine with to varying degrees.  
Is there an “F-“ grade I can switch May/Tibbs to?  

The Sale trade looks bad in hindsight, but I liked the deal at the time.

The Priester trade looked bad, last year, but it is still very much TBD.

Tibbs still has zero MLB PAs, so that one could also be TBD.

The Buehler signing sucked, and Sandoval isn't really paid enough to get all huffy about.

There really are not a ton of bad deals.

His drafts have been very good.

IFA signings seem to be doing okay.