A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[moonslav59]

25 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

I didn't like the way Devers handled things but I also feel the Sox somewhat mistreated him too by bringing in Bregman to take his 3B spot. It will look even worse if Bregman is not here next year.

Well, we have a poster obsessed with bringing Sale back, so it must be contagious.

[moonslav59]

With so many teams in need of Of'ers the talk has been almost all about us trading an OF'er, but what about the fact that many teams are dying for starting pitchers- even #4's or #5's.

That is another area we are pretty deep. We have a #1 (Crochet) and a decent #3 (Bello,) but the amount of #4's to #6's is rather amazing. Adding one or two to a trade package could be what gives us the edge over other teams who cannot spare a pitcher.

Sandoval, Crawford, Harrison, Dobbins, Fitts, Criswell

Tolle, Early, Perales, Uberstine, Drohan, Anderson, Sandlin

I don't think you get good return value on lower level prospects, but we have our fair share of them, too:

Holobetz, Clarke, Paez, Fajardo, Valera, Witherspoon, Phillips, Eyanson

Aita, Travieso, Monegro, Mullins, J Bello, Morgan, Tygart, Brown, Rivera

[Randy Red Sox]

49 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

How is signing the best player left mistreating the worst defensive 3Bman in MLB?

Sure, they handled the communication badly, but the signing was perfectly fine. If Devers is afraid of other good players on the team, then he's the issue. (Note: I don't think he was or is. He just hated how they handled it. So did I.)

 

that is my point.  they handled it badly and now we likely won't have either guy next year.

[Randy Red Sox]

55 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Well, we have a poster obsessed with bringing Sale back, so it must be contagious.

not sure the connection here ??

[Larry Cook]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

How is signing the best player left mistreating the worst defensive 3Bman in MLB?

Sure, they handled the communication badly, but the signing was perfectly fine. If Devers is afraid of other good players on the team, then he's the issue. (Note: I don't think he was or is. He just hated how they handled it. So did I.)

 

Does Casas “nut up” and become a locker room cancer if Wong starts getting innings at first base???

[notin]

10 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Does Casas “nut up” and become a locker room cancer if Wong starts getting innings at first base???

I think we have to know him personally to be able to answer that question with any accuracy…

[notin]

13 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

I didn't like the way Devers handled things but I also feel the Sox somewhat mistreated him too by bringing in Bregman to take his 3B spot. It will look even worse if Bregman is not here next year.

Annd therein lies the issue.  Like Devers, you assumed 3b was “his” and he was entitled to it and owned it.  Devers had every chance to prove he was capable of playing 3b, and he failed miserably, putting up the worst defensive metrics at the position in MLB.  But now it is “mistreating” a player to replace him when he proves incapable of doing his job?

 

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

18 minutes ago, notin said:

Annd therein lies the issue.  Like Devers, you assumed 3b was “his” and he was entitled to it and owned it.  Devers had every chance to prove he was capable of playing 3b, and he failed miserably, putting up the worst defensive metrics at the position in MLB.  But now it is “mistreating” a player to replace him when he proves incapable of doing his job?

Hey -- no politics!

[Randy Red Sox]

11 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Does Casas “nut up” and become a locker room cancer if Wong starts getting innings at first base???

If Conner Wong gets starts at 1B in 2026 the Sox are going nowhere.

[Randy Red Sox]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Annd therein lies the issue.  Like Devers, you assumed 3b was “his” and he was entitled to it and owned it.  Devers had every chance to prove he was capable of playing 3b, and he failed miserably, putting up the worst defensive metrics at the position in MLB.  But now it is “mistreating” a player to replace him when he proves incapable of doing his job?

 

 

i have been a critic of Devers D for a number of years but the Sox knew that when they signed him to that long term deal. In the end Devers became a cancer because he felt he was mistreated. Whether that is fair or not it IS what happened and now after 1 year {about 2/3 of a year} the Sox currently have neither.  That is reality.

JH saved around half of the Devers $$ and the team got VERY LITTLE in return in talent and did not allow Breslow to spend it to upgrade the roster significantly for the stretch run. Now with Bregman gone and Devers money off the books that is about 65 million or more the team should have to spend to upgrade the 2026 roster. Is there anyone who thinks the Sox will spend anywhere NEAR that amount ??

[notin]

30 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

If Conner Wong gets starts at 1B in 2026 the Sox are going nowhere.

I could see Wong playing the occasional 1b as a substitution or because Cora keeps his bench involved.  But he isn’t going to be a starting option, even on the short end of a platoon.

The Sox didn’t have a first baseman last year between Casas and Lowe, and Wong couldn’t even beat out Abraham Toro for starts…

[moonslav59]

14 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

that is my point.  they handled it badly and now we likely won't have either guy next year.

Okay. I thought your point was that the Breggie signing was the mistake.

[moonslav59]

14 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

not sure the connection here ??

It seems that as much as we complain about adding oft injured or recently injured pitchers, every year, many posters suggest we add the next one.

[moonslav59]

Wong's bat is not good enough to play 1B, unless in an emergency.

Romy may need a position to get time. He's ahead of Wong on my 1B depth chart.

[Randy Red Sox]

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Wong's bat is not good enough to play 1B, unless in an emergency.

Romy may need a position to get time. He's ahead of Wong on my 1B depth chart.

they are both inferior if we are to contend. Time for JH to loosen the purse strings and let the GM spend on real talent and not either BBB or players in rehab.

[notin]

27 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

they are both inferior if we are to contend. Time for JH to loosen the purse strings and let the GM spend on real talent and not either BBB or players in rehab.

Why is this an issue?  The guy has SIX career starts at 1b, and none of them happened in 2025 when the Sox didn’t even have a first baseman.  Again - he couldn’t beat out Toro; Hes not going to be the starting 1b this year.

Wait until comments start on the Tristan Gray thread where folks interpret THIS is the Sox answer to their power bat deficiency, despite the article explicitly stating Gray will be either last man on the bench or in Worcester…

[Randy Red Sox]

43 minutes ago, notin said:

Why is this an issue?  The guy has SIX career starts at 1b, and none of them happened in 2025 when the Sox didn’t even have a first baseman.  Again - he couldn’t beat out Toro; Hes not going to be the starting 1b this year.

Wait until comments start on the Tristan Gray thread where folks interpret THIS is the Sox answer to their power bat deficiency, despite the article explicitly stating Gray will be either last man on the bench or in Worcester…

excuse me but when did i EVER  say Wong would be the starting 1B? I was responding to a poster who said and I quote something like Casas will be upset when Wong gets some starts at 1B. I am ok if Casas starts as our 1B next year but don't want to see Wong anywhere near 1B other at most in mop up time.

[Randy Red Sox]

47 minutes ago, notin said:

Why is this an issue?  The guy has SIX career starts at 1b, and none of them happened in 2025 when the Sox didn’t even have a first baseman.  Again - he couldn’t beat out Toro; Hes not going to be the starting 1b this year.

Wait until comments start on the Tristan Gray thread where folks interpret THIS is the Sox answer to their power bat deficiency, despite the article explicitly stating Gray will be either last man on the bench or in Worcester…

Because most people know that Gray is a simply a new version of the BBB's the Sox have employed in recent years especially in the Bloom era.

[Randy Red Sox]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

Okay. I thought your point was that the Breggie signing was the mistake.

The mistake was paying him 40 million for ONE year. I don't think he gave us 40 million in value unless you factor in the $$$ saved on the Devers dump..

[Larry Cook]

3 hours ago, notin said:

I could see Wong playing the occasional 1b as a substitution or because Cora keeps his bench involved.  But he isn’t going to be a starting option, even on the short end of a platoon.

The Sox didn’t have a first baseman last year between Casas and Lowe, and Wong couldn’t even beat out Abraham Toro for starts…

Wong was injured for most of 2025. I think he had surgery after the season. 

[Larry Cook]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

It seems that as much as we complain about adding oft injured or recently injured pitchers, every year, many posters suggest we add the next one.

Tactics available to acquire starting pitching:

Option 1 - try to compete against the Mets, dodgers and Yankees for premium free agent pitching?  Good luck with that option!!! Limited competition from other teams, but the teams competing are monsters with deep pockets!
option 2 - trade quality prospects for premium pitching. Great strategy if you have the prospects. Bres-slow hit a home run in 2025 with this strategy. All teams want to compete, but the quality of the prospects decides the success rate! 
option 3 - scan the waiver wire as well as  take a flyer on rule 5 prospects!!   Aka hang’em Chaim’s preferred strategy!!! Limited competition from other teams if you use this strategy. 
option 4 - sign guys coming off major injury and hope they can contribute. Again limited competition from other teams if you use this strategy. 
option 5 - draft/international signing and develop starting pitching. The preferred method of all teams. Long lead times involved in this strategy. But complete control by each team and only competition is at draft/international signing time. 

option 6 - sign any leftover free agents not signed by the Mets, dodgers or Yankees! Serious competition in this strategy and while most pitchers in this category have a low ceiling. Teams hope they sign someone with a high floor!!!!  See buehler as an example of why hope is not always a good strategy in golf or in acquiring starting pitchers 

this is why we should at the very least call Atlanta about sale’s availability. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Randy Red Sox said:

The mistake was paying him 40 million for ONE year. I don't think he gave us 40 million in value unless you factor in the $$$ saved on the Devers dump..

At that point in the off season, he was the only one that could make us a playoff contender. It was an overpay but worth it.

We should not have gotten to that point of desperation.

We better not repeat that scenario this off season.

 

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

At that point in the off season, he was the only one that could make us a playoff contender. It was an overpay but worth it.

We should not have gotten to that point of desperation.

We better not repeat that scenario this off season.

 

At that point in the offseason? Why did they wait so long? He could have signed with Detroit, and that what. Everyone new it was a one year deal, and now the decision comes with deciding if you want to extend him even further for more money, and a longer period of time.

[moonslav59]

Just now, Larry Cook said:

Tactics available to acquire starting pitching:

Option 1 - try to compete against the Mets, dodgers and Yankees for premium free agent pitching?  Good luck with that option!!! Limited competition from other teams, but the teams competing are monsters with deep pockets!
option 2 - trade quality prospects for premium pitching. Great strategy if you have the prospects. Bres-slow hit a home run in 2025 with this strategy. All teams want to compete, but the quality of the prospects decides the success rate! 
option 3 - scan the waiver wire as well as  take a flyer on rule 5 prospects!!   Aka hang’em Chaim’s preferred strategy!!! Limited competition from other teams if you use this strategy. 
option 4 - sign guys coming off major injury and hope they can contribute. Again limited competition from other teams if you use this strategy. 
option 5 - draft/international signing and develop starting pitching. The preferred method of all teams. Long lead times involved in this strategy. But complete control by each team and only competition is at draft/international signing time. 

option 6 - sign any leftover free agents not signed by the Mets, dodgers or Yankees! Serious competition in this strategy and while most pitchers in this category have a low ceiling. Teams hope they sign someone with a high floor!!!!  See buehler as an example of why hope is not always a good strategy in golf or in acquiring starting pitchers 

this is why we should at the very least call Atlanta about sale’s availability. 

We have the trade capital to add a solid #2. We have enough to get two.

We may have to get creative with a 3 team deal to get Ryan, but we also have the "prospects" to get him without a third team, such as Campbell or Garcia, Arias or pitching prospects not named Tolle or early or some sort of mix and match.

Duran for Lodolo is an overpay according to BTV, but I'd do it.

I'm not against getting Sale, but not as THE #2. After Crochet and Bello (who has some questions too) almost all of our deep rotation depth are unproven youngsters (Tolle, Early, Harrison, Fitts and others) or pitchers coming off an injury (Crawford, Dobbins, Sandoval) or both (Perales.)

I'd feel better having 3 dependable SP'ers- knowing that even those 3 are not a sure bet for 25+ GS'd.

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, Old Red said:

At that point in the offseason? Why did they wait so long? He could have signed with Detroit, and that what. Everyone new it was a one year deal, and now the decision comes with deciding if you want to extend him even further for more money, and a longer period of time.

Waiting that long was reckless.

That being said, the signing got us to the playoffs, despite dumping Devers (another reckless choice.)

[notin]

7 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

Tactics available to acquire starting pitching:

Option 1 - try to compete against the Mets, dodgers and Yankees for premium free agent pitching?  Good luck with that option!!! Limited competition from other teams, but the teams competing are monsters with deep pockets!
option 2 - trade quality prospects for premium pitching. Great strategy if you have the prospects. Bres-slow hit a home run in 2025 with this strategy. All teams want to compete, but the quality of the prospects decides the success rate! 
option 3 - scan the waiver wire as well as  take a flyer on rule 5 prospects!!   Aka hang’em Chaim’s preferred strategy!!! Limited competition from other teams if you use this strategy. 
option 4 - sign guys coming off major injury and hope they can contribute. Again limited competition from other teams if you use this strategy. 
option 5 - draft/international signing and develop starting pitching. The preferred method of all teams. Long lead times involved in this strategy. But complete control by each team and only competition is at draft/international signing time. 

option 6 - sign any leftover free agents not signed by the Mets, dodgers or Yankees! Serious competition in this strategy and while most pitchers in this category have a low ceiling. Teams hope they sign someone with a high floor!!!!  See buehler as an example of why hope is not always a good strategy in golf or in acquiring starting pitchers 

this is why we should at the very least call Atlanta about sale’s availability. 

But at no point should we rely on internal options, right? The Sox have like 12 starting pitchers on their 30 man roster and 11 of them are worthless!!

[notin]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

At that point in the off season, he was the only one that could make us a playoff contender. It was an overpay but worth it.

We should not have gotten to that point of desperation.

We better not repeat that scenario this off season.

 

No love for Pete Alonso, who signed a week later?

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

Waiting that long was reckless.

That being said, the signing got us to the playoffs, despite dumping Devers (another reckless choice.)

I would say the Starting pitching for an extended period of time was the main reason the Red Sox got into the postseason. Bregman helped the first part of the season, but not so much the second. 

[notin]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Waiting that long was reckless.

That being said, the signing got us to the playoffs, despite dumping Devers (another reckless choice.)

Why was it a reckless?

The Sox didn’t need him in December or January. And it wasn’t like when they signed Stephen Drew mid-season.

They wanted Soto.  Understandable. It didn’t pan out.  But why go committing 6 or 7 years to your second choice when you’re not really sure about the guy?

[Larry Cook]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

But at no point should we rely on internal options, right? The Sox have like 12 starting pitchers on their 30 man roster and 11 of them are worthless!!

As far as I know none of our internal options come with much experience.
 

And all our internal options need a little more time in the minors to tighten up secondaries so they can be quality contributors in Boston by September!!!!