How to fix 2026 Red Sox?

[Randy Red Sox]

On 4/22/2026 at 12:53 PM, mvp 78 said:

Anthony's OPS would go even higher by not being the first batter of the game (a skill he's horrible at). 

i don't think he projects as a lead-off hitter. Duran is the obvious choice but of course he has been ice cold most of the year.

[Randy Red Sox]

7 hours ago, notin said:

Is Bregman an A/A+ player?  Should I say, is he still one? He certainly was one a few years ago, and he’s still good.  If he isn’t one, who is on the Cubs?

The Phillies have three in Harper, Schwarber and Turner.  They’re also the worst offense in MLB to date.

You might grade Contreras higher than I would, but he is giving you reason to right now…

 

i know you are going to disagree but Conteras was not the guy to sign as the power bat everyone thought we needed.  I wouldn't have paid Bregman what he got either but the guys to go after were Schwarber or Alonso.  At the end of the day with all the other issues the Sox have the aforementioned is likely irrelevant.  Durbin has been an unmitigated DISASTER but he fit JH's budget.

I think I'd seriously look at a managerial change and hopefully that would be Varitek. Cora may be popular in the clubhouse but the results on the field are clearly not there and he's had plenty of rope. Other than that this looks like a 75-78 win season.  COMPLETE DISASTER !!

[notin]

56 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

i know you are going to disagree but Conteras was not the guy to sign as the power bat everyone thought we needed.  I wouldn't have paid Bregman what he got either but the guys to go after were Schwarber or Alonso.  At the end of the day with all the other issues the Sox have the aforementioned is likely irrelevant.  Durbin has been an unmitigated DISASTER but he fit JH's budget.

I think I'd seriously look at a managerial change and hopefully that would be Varitek. Cora may be popular in the clubhouse but the results on the field are clearly not there and he's had plenty of rope. Other than that this looks like a 75-78 win season.  COMPLETE DISASTER !!

1.  Nothing will change until they fire Cora.  The reason they still have Pete Fatse?  Clearly- because Cora wants him.  So Cora must go, too.

2. Alonso and Bregman were just free agency for the sake of free agency.  No one WANTED Polar Bear Pete.  But he was available, so he got way more love than his one-dimensional ass deserved.  Spending for the sake of spending is how bad teams get built.

3. Durbin failed to excite me from Day One.  I want him to prove me wrong.  But so far, nope.

[Randy Red Sox]

36 minutes ago, notin said:

1.  Nothing will change until they fire Cora.  The reason they still have Pete Fatse?  Clearly- because Cora wants him.  So Cora must go, too.

2. Alonso and Bregman were just free agency for the sake of free agency.  No one WANTED Polar Bear Pete.  But he was available, so he got way more love than his one-dimensional ass deserved.  Spending for the sake of spending is how bad teams get built.

3. Durbin failed to excite me from Day One.  I want him to prove me wrong.  But so far, nope.

i only mentioned Alonso because we needed a RH bat. I didn't really care that we didn't get him. We really didn't get any of the guys we were supposedly in on unless you count Conteras. The tragedy is how much we signed Suarez for and to a smaller extent Gray but hey we can't called JH cheap.

[jdc69]

Pick a record we should not go under at the 2/3 mark of the season, and fire Cora if we dont make above it. Fire Brezlow too, as well as the hitting coach. 

[Sthpaw777]

4 hours ago, jdc69 said:

Pick a record we should not go under at the 2/3 mark of the season, and fire Cora if we dont make above it. Fire Brezlow too, as well as the hitting coach. 

Unfortunately no respected MLB front office professional will work for Henry which is why he hired an assistant GM for prez of bb ops. The position has been a revolving door of disrespect from Henry towards the person in that position since Theo left. People want stability in that position, and they want to be respected. They don’t want to buy a house only to have to sell it 3 years later and move the family across the country again. Henry doesn’t provide stability to his front office personnel or his players. No loyalty.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Don't fire Cora unless you gut the entire coaching staff. You can blame the manager for how he uses his roster, but are the coaches actually coaching by helping those players improve or overcome adversity?

Posters looking at Bregman's batting average or OPS love to justify not signing him, but conveniently forget he was the real batting coach last year -- in the cages during practice and in the dugout during games. Even if Fatse said the same things, the players listened to and respected Bregman.

Data-driven owners and CBOs can't quantify that when setting a limit on dollar signs. That goes for the front office, too. No one will shed tears if Breslow goes, but the rot at the core of the baseball ops has stunk for far too long.

Other clubs and organizations that prioritize employee morale do better than the Boston Run Preventers, who immediately reward a rookie pitcher with a demotion after three shutout innings vs. the first place Yanks.  Instead the Sox keep two utterly unreliable relievers so they can blow the game the next night.

[mvp 78]

9 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

i know you are going to disagree but Conteras was not the guy to sign as the power bat everyone thought we needed.  I wouldn't have paid Bregman what he got either but the guys to go after were Schwarber or Alonso.  At the end of the day with all the other issues the Sox have the aforementioned is likely irrelevant.  Durbin has been an unmitigated DISASTER but he fit JH's budget.

I think I'd seriously look at a managerial change and hopefully that would be Varitek. Cora may be popular in the clubhouse but the results on the field are clearly not there and he's had plenty of rope. Other than that this looks like a 75-78 win season.  COMPLETE DISASTER !!

Tek has been around this team for years as the run prevention guy and the team hasn't really prevented runs. I don't know how great of a job he'd do at managing. This team probably needs a brand new voice in there to take control. 

[mvp 78]

8 hours ago, notin said:

1.  Nothing will change until they fire Cora.  The reason they still have Pete Fatse?  Clearly- because Cora wants him.  So Cora must go, too.

2. Alonso and Bregman were just free agency for the sake of free agency.  No one WANTED Polar Bear Pete.  But he was available, so he got way more love than his one-dimensional ass deserved.  Spending for the sake of spending is how bad teams get built.

3. Durbin failed to excite me from Day One.  I want him to prove me wrong.  But so far, nope.

If Durbin was playing GG defense, I'd have more hope. He's lucky that he's throwing the ball to Contreras because he gets bailed out all the time. If Casas or Dalbec was over there, his numbers would be trash.

[mvp 78]

24 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Don't fire Cora unless you gut the entire coaching staff..

If that's the case, they are stuck with this crew until the end of the year. 

[mvp 78]

3 hours ago, Sthpaw777 said:

Unfortunately no respected MLB front office professional will work for Henry which is why he hired an assistant GM for prez of bb ops. The position has been a revolving door of disrespect from Henry towards the person in that position since Theo left. People want stability in that position, and they want to be respected. They don’t want to buy a house only to have to sell it 3 years later and move the family across the country again. Henry doesn’t provide stability to his front office personnel or his players. No loyalty.

1,000,000%

They are stuck with Breslow for a few years or have to hire internally. The last interview process didn't go smoothly. This one would be even worse if Breslow is terminated before the start of the '28 season.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

15 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If Durbin was playing GG defense, I'd have more hope. He's lucky that he's throwing the ball to Contreras because he gets bailed out all the time. If Casas or Dalbec was over there, his numbers would be trash.

Most sane observers have already noted that Contreras would be a good supplement to an actual big league batting order.

He's not a superstar elite clean-up hitter, but he's been the Red Sox best defensive player on the field by far.

[mvp 78]

22 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Most sane observers have already noted that Contreras would be a good supplement to an actual big league batting order.

He's not a superstar elite clean-up hitter, but he's been the Red Sox best defensive player on the field by far.

He's great. I can't complain about him. They just needed to add another real RHB and have everyone else not fall to pieces. 

[mvp 78]

[notin]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Don't fire Cora unless you gut the entire coaching staff. You can blame the manager for how he uses his roster, but are the coaches actually coaching by helping those players improve or overcome adversity?

Posters looking at Bregman's batting average or OPS love to justify not signing him, but conveniently forget he was the real batting coach last year -- in the cages during practice and in the dugout during games. Even if Fatse said the same things, the players listened to and respected Bregman.

Data-driven owners and CBOs can't quantify that when setting a limit on dollar signs. That goes for the front office, too. No one will shed tears if Breslow goes, but the rot at the core of the baseball ops has stunk for far too long.

Other clubs and organizations that prioritize employee morale do better than the Boston Run Preventers, who immediately reward a rookie pitcher with a demotion after three shutout innings vs. the first place Yanks.  Instead the Sox keep two utterly unreliable relievers so they can blow the game the next night.

Actually it seems like Cora does prioritize player morale, or at least he acted that way in all the stories surrounding his (un)involvement with Devers.   And very likely why Story is still at shortstop,

The Rivera thing is a non-issue.  Every team does things like that because they demote the player with options.  Rivera had an exciting debut, and he will be back.  But no team is DFAing an MLB pitcher in April to hold on to a rookie who had one good appearance.  That can backfire quickly, badly and frequently.  And it rarely leads to public issues, with Tommy La Stella remaining the lone exception (and that was much later in the year involving a non-pitcher).

The Sox hitting approach looks like they want to avoid flyballs, which are the high risk/high reward outcome from a batter.  Nearly every hitter has a good line drive rate, with the line drive being the safest type of batted ball.  But the issue is failing to hit a line drive usually results in a groundball or pop up, and nearly every Sox hitter is high in both of those as well.  The lone exception actually hitting flyballs is Mayer. And he doesn’t play everyday.

Not every hitter has or wants or is comfortable with a line drive swing.  No idea which Sox hitters are or aren’t but it looks like their teams use approach to hitting is “hit as many line drives as possible and hope it works out.”  And I doubt every hitter on this team is comfortable with that approach.

Bregman stories are all around about his influence as a batting coach.  No idea how much truth in them; it’s never been brought up in Chicago, where the Cubs offense is clicking on all cylinders anyway.  

[Deja Doh]

Our best pitcher down the stretch last year, Giolito, just signed with the Padres.

This team has no power.  No pitcher in the league is worried about anyone in our lineup.  We have Andruw Monasterio batting DH for us. If that isn't a red flag, I can't help you guys.  There have been some big name FAs over the past 4 years and the team has not made any substantial commitments outside of Bregman for one year. 

Then the team locks up these unproven (and now no longer hungry players) to huge contracts. We have only one guy in the outfield who can throw the ball.  Almost all are swinging wildly for the fence (and you wonder why there are so many injuries).  We are currently 27th in batting average, 24th in walks, and tied for dead last in home runs. and all alone at the bottom in total bases.  Trade them all.

 

[mvp 78]

Ryan Watson is NOT an MLB pitcher. 

If they are intentionally going for line drive swings, why do they have this sign up? 

 

[Dijocovik2]

Honestly, I think it’s more about consistency than one big fix.

Some games they look fine, other times the offense just disappears. Feels like they’re missing a bit of power and a clear identity right now.

I’d say give it some time, let the younger guys settle in, and avoid overreacting too early. There’s talent there, just needs to click a bit more.

[Behindenemylines]

If you told me before the series started that the Yankees would only score 12 runs in the three games and that they would sweep the Sox I would have said you are crazy! The Sox hitting is hard to watch! When the Yanks hit a three-run homer in the first inning in game two I said the game was over already! 

[Randy Red Sox]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

1,000,000%

They are stuck with Breslow for a few years or have to hire internally. The last interview process didn't go smoothly. This one would be even worse if Breslow is terminated before the start of the '28 season.

The issue is JOHN HENRY and  not the patsies and puppets he has hired since DD.

[moonslav59]

There is no quick fix.

Firing Cor might light a fire under a few players, but the lack of power issue will not go away, even with one big trade. (Trades like what we need never happen in APR-May.)

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, Dijocovik2 said:

Honestly, I think it’s more about consistency than one big fix.

Some games they look fine, other times the offense just disappears. Feels like they’re missing a bit of power and a clear identity right now.

I’d say give it some time, let the younger guys settle in, and avoid overreacting too early. There’s talent there, just needs to click a bit more.

Welcome to TalkSox!

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

The issue is JOHN HENRY and  not the patsies and puppets he has hired since DD.

It's John Henry and a few of his yes men that get in the way like Sam Kennedy. 

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

There is no quick fix.

Firing Cor might light a fire under a few players, but the lack of power issue will not go away, even with one big trade. (Trades like what we need never happen in APR-May.)

Abreu is a streaky guy. He and Contreras should still hit 20 HR. Hard to say about the rest of the team. Anthony showed some power last season, but has that crazy GB%. Mayer has natural loft, but is struggling with MLB pitching. Duran can get really hot and reach 20 HR. Rafaela hit 12 HR in a 40 game span last season. 

I think the team has put themselves in a huge hole (winning %), but the overall offensive numbers should bounce back.

[FredLynn]

10 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

i only mentioned Alonso because we needed a RH bat. I didn't really care that we didn't get him. We really didn't get any of the guys we were supposedly in on unless you count Conteras. The tragedy is how much we signed Suarez for and to a smaller extent Gray but hey we can't called JH cheap.

Sure we can. Henry IS a cheapskate. Right now we are 12th in payroll per Spotrac (https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/) but we are THIRD in team valuation (https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinteitelbaum/2026/03/20/baseballs-most-valuable-teams-2026/)

The FLOPS should not be middle third in spending. They should be in the top five teams in spending based on the value of the franchise. Henry is a disgusting liar of an owner. He needs to sell the team. BTW: why is Breslow (and Cora for that matter) still with the team?

 

[moonslav59]

37 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I think the team has put themselves in a huge hole (winning %), but the overall offensive numbers should bounce back.

But the "bounce back" might be to hit mid tier the rest of the way and still end up at #15 or lower, at best- maybe.

[drewski6]

17 hours ago, Hitch said:

Maybe we should bring in forum favourite, Last Place Dave to fix it.

 

Team would be watchable.

[moonslav59]

30 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

The FLOPS should not be middle third in spending. They should be in the top five teams in spending based on the value of the franchise. Henry is a disgusting liar of an owner. He needs to sell the team. BTW: why is Breslow (and Cora for that matter) still with the team?

We are not middle third in spending. We are 6th.... just one away from your call for being top 5 in spending.

Granted, moving to 5th would mean spending $25M more.

While I agree we should spend more and don't want to sound like I'm defending JH, facts are facts:

We were 11th in spending in 2024 at $220M. We are 6th now at $267. Here are the top 6 teams in 2026 spending and their percent increase in spending since 2024:

1. LAD +18% (353>416) Lost of hidden deferred money

2. NYM + 9.6% (348>381)

3. NYY +6.6% (316>337)

4. PHI +20% (264 #7 to 314)

5. TOR +24% (234 #10 to 291

6. BOS +21% (220 #11 to 267)

It will be interesting to see if the uptick in spending increases, but it appears that how we spend the money seems like a bigger issue than not spending enough.

[FredLynn]

This team is 29th in OPS, 26th in runs, and 27th in BA. There is no fix for this, at least not this year. The sick part is that it was completely predictable. I predicted it, and I am obviously not that smart about baseball data. And it was avoidable.

[jdc69]

6 hours ago, Sthpaw777 said:

Unfortunately no respected MLB front office professional will work for Henry which is why he hired an assistant GM for prez of bb ops. The position has been a revolving door of disrespect from Henry towards the person in that position since Theo left. People want stability in that position, and they want to be respected. They don’t want to buy a house only to have to sell it 3 years later and move the family across the country again. Henry doesn’t provide stability to his front office personnel or his players. No loyalty.

Interesting, because instability is the problem I sense. How can talent be judged if the talent isnt somewhat relaxed?