A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[Old Red]

58 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Maybe someday we can get a sweet guy to GM. He'll know how to stroke everyone's ego into a few last place finishes.

I'll take the geek who has a well thought out plan and knows what he's doing. Maybe a few playoff gigs.

Let’s be fair here we can’t get all sweet guys to GM like DD was, and besides all the sweet guys are in ownership Sam, TW, and JH. Come on man!

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

For a team built on pitching and D -- the main reason the Sox were able to stay in games... not just in the streak but the whole season -- we should all be feeling queasy right now about shortstop.

Demoting Cheng to make room for Mead leaves only Monasterio as an ok SS on the roster. For a pitch-to-contact reliever like Breslow, it's awkward. Are we now counting on returns from either Mayer, who was nothing special, or Story, who was not even average?

Or is a trade for a SS on the way? If it's Neto, a way better player on offense than with the glove, just remember the Angels have averaged 93 losses per season with him as the primary shortstop, and are on pace to drop that many again this year.

[UtahSox]

10 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

For a team built on pitching and D -- the main reason the Sox were able to stay in games... not just in the streak but the whole season -- we should all be feeling queasy right now about shortstop.

Demoting Cheng to make room for Mead leaves only Monasterio as an ok SS on the roster. For a pitch-to-contact reliever like Breslow, it's awkward. Are we now counting on returns from either Mayer, who was nothing special, or Story, who was not even average?

Or is a trade for a SS on the way? If it's Neto, a way better player on offense than with the glove, just remember the Angels have averaged 93 losses per season with him as the primary shortstop, and are on pace to drop that many again this year.

It has to be Lindor unless you’re leveraging the farm. If it’s half as good as so many RS fans think it is you can’t risk it for 2-3 years of Neto/ Elly Cruz etc.

[mvp 78]

There is a change of scenery guy that has been a good defender that could come cheap. 

Could be cheap enough to just get you through this stretch run and replace him next season. He's still young and has options too.