5 Weeks to Go: Breaking Down the Biggest Red Sox Storylines and Remaining Schedule

September is right around the corner, and even as the Boston Red Sox continue to rack up series wins and pull off miraculous come -from-behind victories seemingly every other night, there are still plenty of questions that remain about the future of this club. 

With just over a month to go, here’s a breakdown of the biggest Red Sox storylines to follow before the 2026 campaign comes to a close. 

Remaining Red Sox Schedule, At A Glance

• Games Remaining: 31 
• Home / Road: 15 / 16 
• Games vs. .500+ Teams: 18   
• Remaining Strength of Schedule: 18th-easiest in MLB  

5 Key Red Sox Storylines in the Final 5 Weeks  

Will We See Franklin Arias in September? 

It’s kind of crazy to think that even in the midst of a playoff push, perhaps the number one question on every Red Sox fans’ mind is: Will we see Franklin Arias called up when rosters expand in September? Fans have every right to be excited about Arias as Boston’s top prospect, and the third ranked in all of baseball, has done nothing but rake since his promotion from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester on July 24. 

In 23 games, Arias has slashed .292/.363/.483/.846 with four homers and 22 RBI to go along with 26 hits and 12 runs scored. What’s been interesting to keep an eye on is how the WooSox have deployed him thus far, playing him 12 games at short (102 innings) and seven at second base (62 innings), which could be an indicator of how the Red Sox may choose to utilize him if he gets the call to join them next month. 

While there is a lot to love about his game, and he may provide more of a spark than some other options Boston has waiting to come off the IL, a promotion for Arias may not be as easy as some fans hope it to be. While the act of adding him to the 40-man roster won’t be a difficult one, as the Red Sox currently have two open spots, the second guess will stem from the possibility of a lockout next season. If Arias does get added to the roster and the lockout does occur, then he will lose the ability to utilize team facilities, as opposed to being unaffected if he were to stay off and in the minors. 

As exciting as his talents may be, the Red Sox decision makers must walk a very narrow line when it comes to deciding the developmental future of their next potential star in the making.

Where Do Roman Anthony And Garrett Crochet Slot In When They Return? 

If you told me a couple months ago there was a realistic chance of seeing Roman Anthony or Garrett Crochet again in 2026 I probably would’ve laughed in your face and told you you were insane. As September approaches, however, those pipe dreams seem to be becoming a reality more and more each day based on the latest reports for each player.

Anthony has been partaking in a rehab assignment with Portland where in four games he’s 3-for-11 with one home run, three RBIs, and a .994 OPS while splitting time between left field and designated hitter. Hopes are obviously high for a sooner rather than later return for Anthony, as Chad Tracy recently told the media that he’d be re-evaluated on Thursday after his game with the WooSox. It will be curious to see where Tracy chooses to slot Anthony into the lineup when he does return, one that is deeper now with the addition of Adley Rutschman, but could still use a more competitive approach out of its leadoff spot.

Red Sox Leadoff Hitter Team Rankings

When it comes to Crochet, his return doesn’t seem nearly as close as Anthony’s, but that doesn’t mean there should be any less hope for it to happen. The southpaw started August throwing at 50-60 feet and has since ramped that up to 90 over the last week and had recently told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo that he’d “a million percent” be returning in a bullpen role if he is able to make it back. A quick look at his career numbers as a reliever from 2020-2023 with Chicago (excluding when he missed all of 2022 recovering from Tommy John) should get Sox fans excited at the possibility; in 72 career relief appearances, he owns a 2.71 ERA in 73.0 innings, with a 3.16 FIP, .215 average against, 26.9 K% and 12.7 BB%.

How Will Chad Tracy Handle The Infield Logjam Once Trevor Story And Isiah Kiner-Falefa Are Back?

In this improbable run the Red Sox have gone on to drag themselves out of the grave, fans who have been following know that it hasn’t just been the club’s star players that have gotten them to where they are. It has been the likes of Andruw Monasterio, Nick Sogard, Anthony Seigler, and Mickey Gasper who have infused the Sox with much needed energy and clutch hitting time and time again. Now as we head toward September and expanded rosters, two of those players' seasons may be in jeopardy with the looming returns of Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. 

It will ultimately be up to Chad Tracy to decide how Story and Kiner-Falefa factor back into the roster and lineup, but the question a lot of fans have is: should they be factored back in? Are the Red Sox really a better team with either player in the lineup over any of those names who have helped to get them back into the playoff picture? 

Kiner-Falefa you could maybe make the case for, as he was hitting a respectable .277 with a 101 OPS+ and 100 wRC+ while playing solid defense (7 OAA) and pretty much carrying Boston’s offense on his back through May where he slashed .385/.467/.513/.980 with a wRC+ of 180. Plus, he could easily slot back in as a platoon bench option who could provide some defensive stability late in games or a pinch hit against a lefty if needed. 

Story’s return is where things get messy. Anyone who has been watching this season, and even his rehab appearances where he’s 4-for-21 with five strikeouts and no walks in six games, knows his bat isn’t an upgrade over any of the Red Sox's current options at short. Those who choose to defend him will most likely try to argue his defense will be an upgrade over the current option of Monasterio. However, a look into their advanced stats shows that may not be a valid claim either. In 49 games played at short this year, Monasterio has made five errors with zero Defensive Runs Saved and -9 Outs Above Average for a .974 Fielding Percentage. Story in ten less games has made six errors with -2 DRS, -3 OAA, and a fielding percentage of .958%. Advantage slightly to Monasterio.

Does The Rotation Have Enough In The Tank? 

What was once looked at as the strength of the team may be starting to show some cracks as we approach the final stretch of the 2026 regular season. Sonny Gray and Payton Tolle have bounced back after some rough patches in July to pitch to nearly identical stat lines in August. The two have combined to go 5-1 over eight starts with a 2.16 ERA in 50 innings of work, striking out 56 and walking 12. 

The trio of Ranger Suarez, Patrick Sandoval, and Jake Bennett is where things start to get shaky. Bennett has looked like he’s hit his rookie wall, owning a team worst 5.73 ERA in August with an opponents average of .261 and 14 earned runs allowed over 22 innings pitched. Sandoval hasn’t been far behind with a 5.66 ERA and team worst 1.94 WHIP and .341 average against as the consistent flirting with danger he was able to avoid in July has caught up with him in August. As for Suarez, things just haven’t looked right from a command standpoint since he’s come off the IL, pitching to a 4.42 ERA, .250 average against, and 1.42 WHIP with just 12 strikeouts, and uncharacteristically high walks (nine) and hit batters (four).   

The Red Sox have options if they want to go the opener route to give some of their more overworked arms a breather down the stretch. They may even look to give Brayan Bello another shot at starting in what would almost definitely be a worst-case scenario given his dominance in the bullpen. But it will be interesting to see if the rotations struggles and lack of a bona fide addition at the trade deadline will once again hurt come playoff time.

Can The Red Sox Secure A Home Playoff Series?

The Red Sox currently sit 6.5 games up on the Cleveland Guardians for the second wild-card spot and seem destined for postseason baseball once again barring any sort of drastic collapse. Now, I’m sure some fans are perfectly content with keeping that pace and just making the playoffs given where this season looked to be heading a few months ago. Being just 2.5 games back of the fourth-seeded Yankees with a four-game series in the Bronx looming on the horizon, however, should make the mindset more aggressive. Let's secure the first wild-card spot and a home playoff series. 

They say history has a funny way of repeating itself, and we all remember what happened the last time the Red Sox had to go into the Bronx and try to win a playoff series at Yankee Stadium. We should all also remember what happened the last time that scenario was flipped and the Yankees had to come to Boston and try to win a one-game playoff at Fenway. Given the track record of these two teams, the advantage tends to go to the home team. Sticking with the theme of five, over the last five seasons the Red Sox are 19-16 when playing the Yankees at home, and 17-18 when they’ve gone on the road. All things considered, it’s pretty obvious where you should want another potential Yankees-Red Sox playoff series to be played. 

Getting the postseason back to Fenway will be no easy task for the Red Sox. Of their remaining 31 games, they have a close to even split of 15 at home and 16 on the road. Six of their remaining ten series will come against teams either at or above .500. As for the Yankees, their schedule looks to be the more favorable with 20 of their remaining 32 games coming at home, with just four of ten series being against opponents over .500.