The Red Sox Will Let Speed Be Their Friend in 2025

It’s no secret that the Boston Red Sox have a speedy lineup. The focus on the youth movement at the major league level has come with a speed boost on the base paths. We saw this last year from a handful of guys. Jarren Duran swiped bags with ease for the first half of the season, David Hamilton led the team in steals before his injury in late August, and Ceddanne Rafaela flashed his speed on offense and defense.

This year, the Sox look ready to run. As of Monday morning, six out of the 12 starters for the team have stolen at least one base. Duran has swiped two, as has Story. Wilyer Abreu, Rafaela, Alex Bregman, and Connor Wong have all stolen one base each so far. The team ranks third in steals, behind the Padres with nine and the Pirates with 15. Out of the top three, Boston is the only organization that has yet to be thrown out. That won’t last as they’ll face better catchers over the next few series, it looks like the Red Sox are going to be aggressive on the bases, and that should pay dividends as the season unfolds.

In 2024, the Red Sox finished seventh with 144 stolen bases. That total was carried mostly by Duran and Hamilton, with 34 and 33 steals respectively. Rafaela swiped 19 bases and Romy Gonzalez claimed another 11. Everyone else on the roster was in single digits for the year. Duran all but quit stealing bases in the second half, focusing on saving his legs in order to play a full season. Now that Alex Cora has said Duran will get more rest, he should have the green light whenever he’s on base. Story’s speed looks like it hasn't waned much despite several injuries. Bregman isn’t a speedster, but he showed that he can take advantage of a pitcher who is slow to the plate. Even Wong looked like he was comfortable stealing a base on Sunday. Gonzalez and Hamilton haven’t had much chance to run yet, but we’re early in the season. It wouldn’t be a shock for Hamilton to lead the team in steals even as a utility infielder.

Basestealing isn’t a surefire way to guarantee success for a season. Last season, the Dodgers were 10th in the league in steals with 136 while the Yankees came in at 24th with only 88 stolen bases. As we know, both teams made the World Series. However, a team that can steal bases with ease is a team that constantly has runners in scoring position. The Red Sox have struggled both getting on base and hitting with runners on base so far, but we’re only five games in. As the bats wake up ( hopefully soon) watch for the Red Sox to jump up the stolen base leaderboard.