Brandon Glick

A series featuring two of the most anemic offenses in baseball? Should be a fun home opener.

Sonny Gray makes his long-awaited Red Sox debut following a Garrett Crochet masterpiece on Opening Day. No pressure.

Hard to ask for a better start than that, right? Crochet looked dominant, the Roman Empire looks even stronger in Year 2, and Mayer looked really good off the bench. Going to be a busy week — five games vs Reds & Astros before the next day off.

At long last, the offseason is officially over. A memorable World Baseball Classic helped bridge the gap between last year's painful postseason exit and today, but nothing invites optimism to Boston like MLB Opening Day. Things look a little different for the Red Sox in 2026, following a very active offseason of trades supplemented by a few notable free-agent additions. On paper, this is the strongest roster the team has fielded since 2018, but there's a sizable chasm between a playoff contender and a World Series champion. How all the new pieces gel will determine which camp this iteration of the Sox ultimately falls into. Courtesy of a Hunter Greene elbow injury, Boston will draw Andrew Abbott and a relatively untouched Cincinnati Reds team that snuck into the postseason last year. It should be a fun battle of two star lefties on Opening Day, with Garrett Crochet looking to perform an encore that somehow tops his otherworldly brilliance from 2025. Everything To Know About Boston Red Sox on Opening Day 2026 There were a lot of moving parts over the winter, especially when you take a gander at the farm system. In a total declaration of the win-now era the Red Sox find themselves in, the front office traded ample prospects for veteran players designed to maximize championship odds in 2026. Offseason Additions & Subtractions Key Additions: 1B Willson Contreras, 3B Caleb Durbin, UTIL Andruw Monasterio, SP Sonny Gray, SP Rager Suárez, SP Johan Oviedo, RP Danny Coulombe, RP Ryan Watson Key Losses: 3B Alex Bregman, OF Jhostynxon Garcia, UTIL Rob Refsnyder, SP Lucas Giolito, RP Steven Matz, RP Justin Wilson The team didn't re-sign any of their in-house free agents, despite making multiple overtures for Bregman (signed with the Chicago Cubs) and Wilson (retired). That subtraction category also doesn't include any of the talented pitching prospects they parted with, which could lead to a couple think pieces on Craig Breslow's incompetence somewhere down the line if a couple turn into All-Stars. Nevertheless, this is a wildly improved roster with one of the best starting rotations in all of baseball. Oviedo, who required a top-100 prospect in Garcia to acquire, couldn't even crack the starting five, ceding the No. 5 spot to Wild Card Series Game 3 starter Connelly Early. With Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett also waiting in the wings in Triple-A, this is a loaded group that comes armed with impressive depth. If the offense can survive the loss of Bregman, this will be among the most well-rounded rosters in the sport. Opening Day roster surprises We already mentioned Early shocking the world to displace Oviedo in the starting rotation. I have to believe the team will give the former Pittsburgh Pirate ample opportunities to win that spot back given the cost they sunk into him, but for now, Oviedo will be a bulk reliever with tantalizing stuff. Monasterio making the 26-man roster out of camp was also a pleasant surprise, and a well-earned one at that. He hit well enough in spring training (95 wRC+) while showing a more mature plate approach, and his versatility will be key to making the whole roster click. Expect him to platoon with Marcelo Mayer at the keystone until Romy Gonzalez returns from injury, at which point the coaching staff will need to decide whether to send Monasterio down or release Isiah Kiner-Falefa. It's not hard to guess which outcome fans will be rooting for. Lastly, Ryan Watson making the bullpen isn't a surprise — the Red Sox weren't going to give up on a Rule 5 pick they really liked just because of a mediocre spring — but their history of turning Rule 5 pitchers into useful bullpen weapons (Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten) portends a bright future for the 28-year-old Watson. And, because Oviedo will begin the year in the bullpen as a piggyback starter/bulk reliever, Watson can focus on short outings that will allow his stuff to play up. Bold Red Sox predictions for 2026 Saying Garrett Crochet will win the Cy Young Award hardly qualifies as bold, but suggesting that Triston Casas will return and hit 30 home runs is a little too daring for my tastes. So, I'll leave you all with five rapid-fire predictions for this team that aren't out of the realm of possibility, but also probably won't happen unless everything breaks right. Garrett Whitlock will supplant Aroldis Chapman as the team's closer at some point during the regular season. Willson Contreras will win the Silver Slugger Award for American League first basemen. Marcelo Mayer will win the Gold Glove Award for American League second basemen. The Red Sox will win 95+ games but still finish second in the American League East. Finally, the team will exact revenge on the Yankees for last October, sweeping them in the ALDS. Have fun watching the game today, everyone! And go Red Sox! View full article

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. The final edition of Talk Sox's top prospect rankings for the 2026 season is finally here, featuring hard-throwing southpaw Payton Tolle. A consensus Top-100 prospect with an otherworldly fastball, he's the perfect player to lead the Boston Red Sox's farm system. Be sure to check out all of our previous rankings here: Part 1 (Nos. 16-20) Part 2 (Nos. 11-15) Part 3 (No. 10) Part 4 (No. 9) Part 5 (No. 8) Part 6 (No. 7) Part 7 (No. 6) Part 8 (No. 5) Part 9 (No. 4) Part 10 (No. 3) Part 11 (No. 2) Boston Red Sox Top Prospects: No. 1 Payton Tolle What is there left to say about Tolle at this point? The mustachioed 23-year-old rose from High-A to MLB in his first professional season, skyrocketing up both prospect rankings and the team's starting pitching depth chart. To call his potential tantalizing would be an understatement, particularly if you're dreaming upon a future rotation starring him and fellow southpaw Garrett Crochet. What he brings to the table — a 6'6" frame, elite extension, and a high-90s fastball — can't be taught. He cruised through his 20 minor-league appearances last year to the tune of a 3.04 ERA and 2.75 FIP while striking out a ridiculous 36.5% of the hitters he faced. Perhaps even more impressively, his walk rate sat at just 6.3%, suggesting a better feel for the strike zone that scouts foretold of the second-round pick. That dominance led to an earlier-than-expected MLB debut, which generated even more excitement after an electric start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, he struggled after that point, surrendering nine earned runs over his next 11 innings. It would have been unreasonable to expect him to beat the best hitters in the world right away, but Tolle's specific shortcomings were really exposed in the majors. His fastball is great, and the raw numbers (96.7 mph average velocity, 28.3% whiff rate, 23.3% put-away rate) are fantastic. But he also used the pitch 64% of the time in his brief big-league stint, hence why hitters were still able to tag it for a .565 slugging percentage and .402 wOBA despite its elite shape and relatively solid command up in the zone. Meanwhile, his cutter and slider both hold very similar shapes and movement profiles, and his changeup is disastrously flat. Tolle only mustered the courage to throw that latter pitch 21 times in the big leagues (all against righties) and it was hammered to the tune of a .711 wOBA. To put it simply: Tolle throws five pitches, but only one is ready for the major leagues right now. That's why he'll open up the season at Triple-A Worcester. It's also why it wouldn't be a surprise to see him spend all of 2026 there, as he tinkers with his other offerings and learns not to be so reliant on his heater. No pitcher, no matter how good they are, can win with just one pitch. Aroldis Chapman's fastball has always had a slider to pair with; Mariano Rivera's cutter always had a two-seamer or sinker to keep hitters honest. Tolle has the physical attributes, primary offering, and know-how to be a legitimate frontline starter. In a farm system that also contains Connelly Early, Kyson Witherspoon, and Jake Bennett, he's the best prospect of the bunch. With some refinement of the skills he already he has, Tolle can become the Red Sox's next homegrown ace. View full article

Opening Day is less than two weeks away, and the Boston Red Sox's plans for the regular season are coming into focus. As players return from the World Baseball Classic, the team will be able to continue cutting players from major-league camp and fine tuning the roster. Of course, baseball junkie Craig Breslow wasn't finished tinkering just because spring training is well underway. After months of offseason rumors connected both parties, the Red Sox have signed left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe. He crucially adds a third southpaw to the bullpen, joining Jovani Moran and closer Aroldis Chapman. Unfortunately, in order to make room for the 36-year-old on the 40-man roster, the team sent Romy Gonzalez to the 60-day injured list, knocking him out until at least May. Red Sox Answer Bullpen's Biggest Question With Danny Coulombe Signing Once the front office cleaned house of all the fringe left-handed relievers on the roster, there was a question if they'd convert one of their many pitching prospects to relief. Then, Kyle Harrison and practically everyone else was traded away, leaving the big-league bullpen short on matchup arms. There was hope of an 11th-hour reunion with Justin Wilson, but the veteran reliever is reportedly leaning toward retirement. Coulombe thankfully resolves that concern, even if he isn't flawless. He shredded the competition with the Minnesota Twins during the first half of last season, pitching to a 1.16 ERA (2.01 FIP) over 31 frames. Benefitting from an abundance of weakly hit fly balls, the veteran reliever showed off an enviable mastery of the strike zone, punching out more than a quarter of the hitters he faced while walking just 7.4% of them. Things came a bit undone once he was traded to the Texas Rangers (5.25 ERA, 6.64 FIP), but he still finished the season as one of the league's best at getting batters to chase pitches outside the zone. Naturally, that's what makes him so good at forcing weak contact, despite a fastball that barely averages more than 90 mph. He's got a movement-dependent, spin-heavy arsenal that should play nicely off the gas that Chapman throws. In terms of matchups, lefties technically posted a higher batting average against him last year, but their impact was minimal (.238 wOBA). For his career, he's held left-handed batters to a scant .596 OPS, compared to a .694 mark against right-handers. When he's right, he can get anyone out, as he proved in Minnesota. Truthfully, health may be his biggest hurdle — Coulombe has had six injured list stints since the start of 2022. Chapman is a known quantity as the closer, even if he's unable to deliver an encore on his sterling 2025 campaign. And Moran, despite some warts, is a whiff-generating machine with some untapped upside. This trio of left-handed relievers should be capable of shepherding the bullpen to great heights, assuming they can all stay healthy. Romy Gonzalez's Shoulder Injury Compounds Loss of Rob Refsnyder Unfortunately, Coulombe's arrival can only generate so much goodwill and hype. Losing Gonzalez for an extended period of time is a blow to the team's bench infrastructure, and also a reminder of why acquiring Caleb Durbin was so important. More than anything, Gonzalez is perhaps the team's single-best hitter against southpaws now that Rob Refsnyder and Alex Bregman are playing elsewhere. He hammered them last to the tune of a .331/.378/.600 slash line, producing a .978 OPS and 162 wRC+ when he had the handedness advantage. Opposing teams will be able to exploit his absence by bringing in high-leverage left-handed relievers in late games, knowing Alex Cora has limited options to work with. However, it's worth noting that Gonzalez's placement on the IL opens up an Opening Day roster spot for Andruw Monasterio, who has been really impressive this spring. He's got a versatile glove and some upside at the plate, and perhaps he could play well enough over the season's opening weeks to stave off a demotion when Gonzalez returns (though, in turn, that would probably get Isiah Kiner-Falefa kicked off the team). With Gonzalez out and Triston Casas also expected to need more time to recuperate, the Red Sox are down two of their best power hitters. They'll need some breakouts from their youth contingent in order to produce runs in the early going. View full article

At long last, Talk Sox has reached its countdown of the top five prospects in the Boston Red Sox's system heading into the 2026 season. Be sure to check out our previous rankings here: Part 1 (Nos. 16-20) Part 2 (Nos. 11-15) Part 3 (No. 10) Part 4 (No. 9) Part 5 (No. 8) Part 6 (No. 7) Part 7 (No. 6) Boston Red Sox Top Prospects: No. 5 Juan Valera The Red Sox have made a habit of trading away quality pitching prospects, dealing away a small army of young arms this offseason in their myriad of trades aimed to improve the major-league roster. And yet, they made a few names untouchable in trade talks (spoiler alert for the rest of our top-20 rundown): Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kyson Witherspoon, and Juan Valera. That's some lofty company for Valera, 19, to find himself in after just two seasons of full-time ball. But the teenager out of the Dominican Republic has earned the hype, even after a 2025 season that flashed some red flags. Across 10 starts with High-A Greenville, Valera consumed 38 innings while posting a 5.45 ERA and 3.97 FIP. The more advanced hitters at the level were able to square him up frequently, as he surrendered six home runs in just 167 plate appearances. That being said, the underlying metrics are tantalizing. He struck out 27.5% of hitters and walked just 6.0% of them, displaying a mastery of the strike zone you almost never see in young pitchers. That control is even more impressive when you consider that Valera throws a high-90s fastball and a gyro slider with big break both horizontally and vertically. Those offerings play nicely off each other; his fastball features some natural cut action (i.e., movement to his glove side) and his slider displays some sweeping tendencies while still retaining vertical break. To combat his two primary offerings both featuring glove-side action, Valera has been tinkering with a changeup, but it is certainly his weakest offering. It's firm and a little flat, lacking the fading action that he needs to really work both sides of the plate. Still, because the pitch routinely flashes in the low-90s, he's able to use it effectively down in the zone. The bigger concern is health, as is the case for most pitching prospects with elite velocity. He missed multiple months in 2025 while tending to elbow soreness, though he returned to Greenville by the end of the regular season and reportedly had a "normal" offseason in terms of preparation. That's worth monitoring as he climbs further up the ranks, but he and the Red Sox appear to have dodged a bullet for now. Valera's delivery actually reminds me a bit of Nestor Cortes. Though he's less eccentric on the mound that the former New York Yankees southpaw, he's got a simple, repeatable motion that he'll deviate from in an effort to mess with hitters' timing. He doesn't change much more than his tempo — and he certainly doesn't freestyle in the way Cortes does — but the young right-hander does have an advanced feel for his mechanics and isn't shy about altering his style in order to gain the upper hand. He still needs to hit key developmental goals (a third and even fourth reliable offering would be game-changing) and prove that he can handle even a semi-reliable workload (his career high in innings is 63 1/3), but Valera's arrow is pointing upward heading into 2026. Despite not turning 20 until May, he'll likely crash Double-A before the All-Star Break, with a slim chance to make it to Worcester if he remains healthy all year long. By this time next year, he could be the consensus top prospect in the system. View full article

A move that probably should have happened months ago, but still a nice pickup. The salary is so small that the team can cut him loose at any point, but I'd expect Coulombe to be on the Opening Day roster barring injury.

The Boston Red Sox have finally started shaving down their major-league roster, optioning or re-assigning eight players to minor-league camp on Monday, March 9. Jake Bennett is the most notable name on that list as a member of the 40-man roster and one of the team's top prospects. Still, he's got a long way to go before making his MLB debut, as he's still behind Payton Tolle and Connelly Early on the organizational depth chart. Three of those pitchers (Osvaldo Berrios, Hobie Harris, and Vinny Nitoli) are either hurt or have been delayed in their ramp-up for the regular season. Both catchers (Nate Baez and Ronald Rosario) are projected to open the season in Double-A as depth behind Triple-A options Jason Delay and Mickey Gasper. The other two arms (Devin Sweet and Jeremy Wu-Yelland) are intriguing bullpen options who struggled mightily in their limited spring training action. Expect more rounds of cuts in the coming weeks, especially as the team's 15 representatives at the World Baseball Classic make their way back to camp. View full rumor

The Spring Breakout Event is back this year, featuring some of the best prospects in all of baseball. The Boston Red Sox's contingent will square off against the Baltimore Orioles on March 20 (6:05pm EST). The annual event has led to some memorable moments in recent iterations — it was just last year that Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell all homered in the Spring Breakout game — and this year's contest should be no different. Many of Talk Sox's top 20 Red Sox prospects in 2026 will be in attendance, as will a large swath of the team's top 2025 draft picks. Below you'll find the team's initial 40-man pool of players eligible for the game; due to the World Baseball Classic interrupting spring training, the Red Sox will finalize their roster (consisting of 23-27 total players) on March 18. PITCHERS (18) Cooper Adams, RHP Jake Bennett, LHP Alex Bouchard, RHP Sadbiel Delzine, RHP Austin Ehrlicher, RHP Anthony Eyanson, RHP Leighton Finley, RHP John Holobetz, RHP Jacob Mayers, RHP Hayden Mullins, LHP Marcus Phillips, RHP Eduardo Rivera, LHP Reidis Sena, RHP Brady Tygart, RHP Tyler Uberstine, RHP Juan Valera, RHP Kyson Witherspoon, RHP Gage Ziehl, RHP CATCHERS (4) Nate Baez Johanfran Garcia Franklin Primera Gerardo Rodriguez INFIELDERS (11) Marvin Alcantara Franklin Arias Josue Brito Yoeilin Cespedes Freili Encarnacion Henry Godbout Ahbram Liendo Hector Ramos Mikey Romero Dorian Soto Mason White OUTFIELDERS (7) Enddy Azocar Miguel Bleis Allan Castro Anderson Fermin Justin Gonzales Harold Rivas Nelly Taylor Spring Breakout Pitching Prospect To Watch: Kyson Witherspoon We still haven't actually seen the Red Sox's top draft pick from 2025 actually take the field with the team, but what a stage this would be for the former Oklahoma Sooner to make his pro baseball debut. There are concerns about his command, but Witherspoon has an electric fastball and dominant breaking pitches that would play really well in a short one- or two-inning stint that the Spring Breakout Game would afford him. It's possible he doesn't make the final roster once the Red Sox pare down their 40-man pool, but the point of this game is to highlight the best prospect talent in every team's farm system. As a consensus top-five prospect in the organization right now, Witherspoon certainly fits that distinction. Spring Breakout Hitting Prospect To Watch: Franklin Arias Someone who will definitely be on the final roster is Arias, who has already made some flashy plays in the field this spring. He's looked overmatched in his few trips to the plate, but he mustered a 109 wRC+ in 2205 while ascending to Double-A as a teenager. Now set for his age-20 season, the slick-fielding shortstop is arguably the best prospect in the system heading into 2026. After the memorable performance the Big 3 put forth last year, it'd be nice to see Arias get his own shining moment during the nationally broadcasted prospect-fest. View full article

As dedicated sports fans and analysts, there's something of a bizarre phenomenon that takes place once a player reaches a certain stratosphere: We stop talking about them. I don't mean literally, of course. People didn't stop wearing David Ortiz jerseys or magically forget the historic ascendancy unfolding every time Pedro Martinez took the mound. But articles breaking down the minutiae of a player's stats or endless forum discussions about their value to the team are often reserved for those on the fringes of a casual fan's mind — the "X-factors" of the world, as we've come to call them. Sometimes, a pitcher or hitter becomes so good that their greatness is inevitable. Last season, Garrett Crochet entered that tier of greatness. He was so singularly dominant — so guaranteed to put the Boston Red Sox in a position to win every time he took the mound — that it became easy to take him for granted. Leading the American League in workload (205 1/3 innings), the War Pig accumulated an MLB-leading 255 strikeouts. His 2.59 ERA and 6.3 bWAR were enough to earn him a second-place finish in Cy Young Award voting, behind only back-to-back champion Tarik Skubal. That is now the standard to which Crochet must adhere. No matter which outlet or sportsbook you choose to get your odds from, you'll find the Red Sox's ace as one of two favorites for the Junior Circuit's top pitching award this season, alongside Skubal. No one else comes within their vicinity, with Jacob deGrom and Hunter Brown serving as dark-horse options as the next-biggest favorites on the list. That's awe-inspiring company to be a part of. Crochet joins Skubal, Paul Skenes (reigning NL Cy Young) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (reigning World Series MVP) as one of the four best pitchers in the sport. Even on a pitching staff that's set to introduce All-Stars Sonny Gray and Ranger Suárez to the fold this year, the incumbent southpaw is the unquestioned leader of the group. The projection systems offer similar hope and hype for an encore. Every notable model foresees at least 5.0 fWAR worth of production from Crochet in 2026, and even those that aren't overtly bullish on him still can't help but prognosticate greatness. Garrett Crochet 2026 Projections Steamer: 193 innings, 3.02 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 30.8% strikeout rate, 5.6 fWAR ZiPS: 184 1/3 innings, 2.78 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 30.7% strikeout rate, 5.5 fWAR Composite: 187 innings, 2.98 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 30.4% strikeout rate, 5.6 fWAR There were already considerable expectations on his shoulders after the trade with the Chicago White Sox, and even those ballooned after he inked a $170 million extension to remain in Boston for the foreseeable future. Now, Crochet is facing do-or-die pressure every time he steps to the mound. Anything short of another top-three finish in Cy Young voting will register as disappointing, as insane as that is to say during the first week of March. Remember, none of the Red Sox's previous southpaw aces (Chris Sale, David Price, and Jon Lester) were able to win the award in Boston. Rick Porcello's questionable victory in 2016 is the last one the franchise has had; before him, it was Pedro's two-year run in 1999 and 2000. MVPs have been nearly twice as common as Cy Youngs in team history (11 to 7), and that includes a man (Roger Clemens) who won both a combined four times. Asking Crochet to win the top pitching award — while having to out-duel an all-time great in Skubal for it — is probably asking to be disappointed. But that's what being great is all about: having to exceed even the most outlandish expectations. Crochet has earned his place in this discussion. The projection systems clearly favor his chances to repeat his breakout 2025 season. As he's soon to find out, though, there's only one thing more difficult than reaching the mountaintop: maintaining your place atop it. View full article

Real, live MLB action is finally upon us once again. It feels so sweet after such a long (and cold) offseason — aptly named, spring training marks the unofficial end of winter and the even-less-official start of the season before summer. But while snow and blizzards continue to rampage the northeast, Florida and Arizona are unperturbed. The sunshine is unrelenting, and so too is the baseball that comes with it. All of that is to say: Welcome back to the funniest and most headache-inducing period of baseball discourse. If you've followed this sport for more than a season, you know the trap that is spring training. It's a time of year when unheralded non-roster invitees look like future MVPs all while the ace your team shelled out $150 million for looks like a washed-up scrub. Because baseball has been absent for so long, it's impossible not to draw conclusions from the evidence of our eyes and ears, but we must use precedent and history to remind ourselves that nothing happening during this exhibition slate actually matters. For every Nolan Arenado or Kris Bryant-style breakout — where a top prospect announces that they are truly, wholly ready for the big leagues — there's 100 players who ride unsustainable hot streaks in spring to undeserved roster spots or, at the very least, 15 minutes of fame. It's as inevitable as it is frustrating. Let's take the 2025 Red Sox as a case study. Last year, the team's spring training leader in OPS was Mikey Romero (2.048 OPS). Among players with at least 10 at-bats, though, the top five looked as such: Trayce Thompson (1.280), Alex Bregma (1.026), Nate Eaton (1.022), Marcelo Mayer (.982), and Abraham Toro (.951). Toro is perhaps a perfect microcosm of the biggest pitfall spring training presents: the sample size. Toro repeated his blistering spring in May (124 wRC+) before slumping to a .574 OPS in July. Anyone who gets invited to spring training is capable of getting hot, even against the best players in the world, because they are the best players in the world. They wouldn't be at spring training if they weren't able to hit against pro pitchers, or if their fastball sat at 75 mph. In a small-enough sample, anything can happen. Which is precisely why we can't trust what happens in February and March, especially since the average level of competition is lower than it is during the regular season. So, when Brayan Bello and Ranger Suarez are repping double-digit ERAs through their first appearances, or when Tyler McDonough and Andruw Monasterio are posting OPS figures above 1.000 through the end of February, remember that none of this guarantees anything when the games start to actually matter. Now, this whole conversation requires a caveat once every three years, including 2026: the World Baseball Classic. Unlike spring training, these games "matter" in a somewhat technical sense. Though nothing from the tournament carries over into the regular season, there's a lot of pride on the line. And as baseball's version of the World Cup grows more and more popular with each iteration, players take their performance — both from an individual and team perspective — more seriously. Winning championships and posting huge stat lines gets your name in the record books, something that not even the most legendary spring training performances have a claim to. When the WBC gets fired up next week, it'll be a little more difficult to discern which performances are worth reading into. Masataka Yoshida was the best player in the last edition of the tournament, setting a new WBC record for RBIs. He debuted with the Red Sox that year to the tune of a solid but unspectacular 111 wRC+. Could a similar dominant performance from one of the Red Sox's many representatives portend a 2026 breakout? It's hard to say with any degree of certainty. So, let yourself dream on that long-awaited Romero breakout and don't be discouraged by Bello's ugly stats. Just as the players are warming up their bodies for a long season ahead, we too must get our minds back in the habit of deciphering what's real and what isn't. View full article

With Roman Anthony, Ranger Suárez, and other ticketed for the WBC, which Boston Red Sox players will stand out most at spring training? View full video

It flew way under the radar earlier in the month, but the Boston Red Sox did add another bullpen option to the mix in Kyle Keller. Unlike fellow offseason acquisition Ryan Watson, Keller isn't on the 40-man roster — he'll earn $1.9 million if he breaks camp with the team — meaning he'll have to displace someone to return to the majors. The good news is that, besides Watson and Tyler Samaniego, the Red Sox didn't add anyone else to the reliever mix this winter (save for a smattering of non-roster invitees). In other words, opportunities will be abundant in spring. That'll be important for Keller, who hasn't pitched in Major League Baseball since 2021. He's spent the past four years in the NPB, racking up some big strikeout numbers while allowing too many home runs and walks. The 32-year-old right-hander posted a 2.42 ERA across 152 1/3 innings in Japan, though his peripherals left something to be desired. One thing to note is that, while his mid-90s fastball velocity really played up in the NPB (where high-end velocity is much rarer than in MLB), Keller won't be able to get by so easily if he's missing his spots. However, as shared by Section 10's Tyler Milliken, that four-seamer did yield a 126 Stuff+ grade last year. It's easily his best pitch, though a 70% usage rate probably won't fly in the states without another tick or two on the radar gun. His other two pitches, a curveball and splitter, are generally reserved for specific batters, with the curve primarily used against righties and the splitter saved exclusively for lefties. The problem is the curveball, despite generating a decent whiff rate (26.8%), gets hit hard and doesn't grade out well in terms of shape or break. The split-finger did stifle left-handed batters in 2025 (.147 xwOBAcon), though that sample is comprised of only 40 pitches. Really, this is a bet on a unique fastball that Keller just dominates the upper-third of the zone with. The pitch has tremendous rise and ride, meaning hitters perceive it going up in the zone after it's released. Keller can run into some trouble when he leaves it down — it runs into the swing path of hitters, especially lefties, in that case — but there's a reason why the pitch only yielded a 30.0% ground-ball rate last year. He wins by throwing the pitch high and daring batters to catch up with it. Keller is a fascinating case of a one-trick pony whose trick is actually a lot more impressive and deceptive than it appears at first glance. His first assignment clause comes in mid-April, meaning the Red Sox will have a couple of months to evaluate him in spring training and Triple-A before he can seek a major-league deal with another team. Will that be enough time to win him a job in Boston's bullpen? Seeing as the team has lost so many relievers this offseason (Steven Matz, Jordan Hicks, Brennan Bernardino, Chris Murphy, Liam Hendriks, Josh Winckowski) without adding many options to replace them, the signing of Kyle Keller could prove to be monumental if everything breaks the right way. View full article