Ryan Salvaggio

With all of the questions surrounding Boston’s offense, the thing that was going to put fans at ease in 2026 was the projection of a dominant, reworked rotation to complement a bullpen that was the team’s biggest strength in 2025. Through the first month-plus though, the staff appears to be treading water as the injuries and up-and-down performances have come fast and furious, leading the Red Sox to rely on arms no one would’ve thought they’d need to this early on. If the Sox are going to get back into the race in a still relatively wide-open American League, especially with how their offense has struggled, it’s going to need to be the pitching staff that carries the load as many expected entering the season. Below are the grades for all 19 of Boston’s pitchers for March and April. You can check out our hitter grades here. (Note, all players who appeared in at least one game in March/April have been listed in alphabetical order by last name to help easily review): Grading Every Red Sox Hitter from April 2026 Jack Anderson 3 Games, 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 8.0 IP, 6 SO, 2 BB, .267 AVG, 4.02 FIP, 0.1 WAR It’s fair to say not much was probably known about Jack Anderson to Red Sox fans when he was called up on April 14th on an emergency basis after Garrett Crochet had just had his doors blown off in Minnesota the previous night. Prior to his first appearance, all anyone really had to go off of was that Anderson had struggled when he was called up to Worcester in 2025, where he made three starts, lost all of them and gave up 14 ER over 11.1 IP, had pitched three innings in one appearance, allowing one run and striking out three for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic, and had one scoreless inning pitched in Spring Training with the Sox this season. In three outings with the big league club, Anderson filled his role effectively, working two-plus innings in all three and limiting the damage from opposing teams, allowing just a single run in each. While the numbers may not jump off the page, if there are two areas Anderson can rely on and continue to give the Red Sox some confidence in utilizing him throughout the season it’s the above average Chase% (35.4%) and BB% (6.3) Anderson has operated with thus far. All in all, Anderson has proven to be a solid depth option so far for the Red Sox if they are ever in a pinch and need some immediate reinforcements from Worcester, pinning Anderson with a passing C+ grade. Brayan Bello 6 Starts, 1-4, 9.12 ERA, 25.2 IP, 17 SO, 15 BB, .374 AVG, 7.60 FIP, -1.2 WAR When the Red Sox acquired Sonny Gray via trade and signed Ranger Suarez this past offseason, the belief among some in the fanbase and media was that sliding Brayan Bello into the No. 3 or No. 4 spot in the rotation would be good for him, taking any potential pressure off of him thinking he had to pitch like a No. 2 as he did in 2025. Now just six starts into the season and that couldn’t be further from the truth as everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for him. Of those six outings, he has gone past the fourth inning just once and, among his struggles, has had a really hard time generating strikeouts (12.8 K%, 6th percentile) and missing barrels (13.9 Barrel%, 9th percentile) leading to his bloated ERA and average against. Maybe worst of all it seems as though he’s reverted back to completely melting down when things start spiraling out of control in-game, something that had shown a big improvement in 2025, but has seemingly reared its ugly head again this season, resulting in an F- grade. Aroldis Chapman 9 Games, 0-1, 1.04 ERA, 8.2 IP, 10 SO, 3 BB, .172 AVG, 2.19 FIP, 0.4 WAR So far Aroldis Chapman has picked up right where he left off following his dominant first season in Boston, slamming the door shut on all five of his save opportunities so far in 2026. Therein lies the problem though, as thanks to the Red Sox being in so few games this season, Chapman hasn’t been given many save opportunities and chances to get into games thus far, which is an unfortunate circumstance for a pitcher of his caliber. He’s made the most of his chances though when he does get into games and continues to tally up the swings and misses (39.3 Whiff%) and strikeouts (30.3 K%) as he’s effectively done throughout his career. What may be interesting to keep an eye on for the now 38-year-old Chapman is not only does he seem to be getting barreled up (5.5 Barrel% in 2025 to 21.1% in 2026) and hit harder (36.7% in 25’ to 52.6 in 26’) this season, but he’s seemed to have lost velocity on his sinker, which has dipped from 99.4 MPH to 97.9, 4-Seam fastball (98.4 to 97.0), AND slider, (86.7 to 85.6) all in a year’s time. Even with the slight drop-offs to start this season, Chapman is still Boston’s best weapon out of their bullpen, earning him a solid A grade to begin the year as the hope is they’ll be able to utilize him in more games going forward. Danny Coulombe 11 Games, 0-1, 6.14 ERA, 7.1 IP, 5 SO, 3 BB, .276 AVG, 5.16 FIP, -0.2 WAR Hand up, I will admit when the Red Sox first signed Danny Coulombe I thought the move was a slam dunk signing after posting a 2.30 ERA in 55 games with Minnesota and Texas in 2025. Looking back though the writing probably should’ve been on the wall for a player who was brought in towards the tail end of Spring Training as now 11 games and 7.1 abysmal innings in, it has been a dreadful start for Coulombe’s Red Sox tenure. While he’s had some success at missing barrels (4.2%) and inducing soft contact (29.2 Hard-Hit%), Coulombe’s low velocity (3rd percentile in Fastball Velocity) hasn’t helped him much in terms of getting many strikeouts (15.2 K%) or swings-and-misses (17.5 Whiff%) which in turn has led to a solid .276 average against and ghastly 6.14 ERA. For a player who was signed with such potential to be the Red Sox second shut down lefty behind Chapman, Coulombe hasn’t lived up to the stats on the back of the baseball card by any means, sticking him with an F grade to begin the season. Garrett Crochet 6 Games, 3-3, 6.30 ERA, 30.0 IP, 37 SO, 11 BB, .270 AVG, 4.32 FIP, -0.6 WAR On Opening Day in Cincinnati, Garrett Crochet looked like the Cy-Young runner up Red Sox fans had come to know and love a season ago, throwing six shutout innings with eight strikeouts en route to Boston’s 3-0 win. Then the cracks began to form with a four run, five innings pitched loss against Houston. A rare clunker, but one fans brushed off as they watched Crochet bounce back against Milwaukee the following start, hurling 6.1 innings of two run, seven strikeout baseball. Then came the “oh no, what is going on!?” outings against Minnesota and Detroit where he allowed a combined 15 earned runs, five walks, and four home runs over 6.2 innings leading some to wonder if Crochet had been pitching hurt. Despite his best efforts to reassure fans he wasn’t hurt, both verbally and by tossing six, three hit, seven strikeout innings in the Sox’s 17-1 thumping of Baltimore, it turns out he was hurt, ending up on the injured list with shoulder inflammation. The hope is he’ll only need the two weeks to recover and be back in the Red Sox rotation in no time, but with the uncertainty surrounding this injury, one he previously dealt with in 2023 which caused him to miss two-and-a-half months thanks to a setback, and the inconsistent nature he’s pitched with thus far, Crochet earns an uncharacteristically poor D+ grade. Connelly Early 6 Starts, 2-1, 2.84 ERA, 31.2 IP, 28 SO, 14 BB, .212 AVG, 4.60 FIP, 0.7 WAR After bursting onto the scene as one of Boston’s biggest surprises in 2025, Connelly Early has picked up where he left off, putting together perhaps the most consistent stretch out of any starter the rotation has seen. While Early’s numbers won’t blow you away, with numerous percentile rankings either at or below league average, he continues to be most effective at not letting the moment get too big and knowing how to bear down and make a pitch when needed. Looking more closely at his consistency that has helped him stand out is the fact he has pitched into the sixth inning or later in four of his six starts, something no other starter can say they’ve done so far. Going forward, in order for him to be at his most effective, Early will need to mainly find a better balance between his strikeouts and walks, with a solid 7.96 K/9 rate but underwhelming 3.98 BB/9 rate. Doing this while continuing to keep batters off balance and make the big pitches when he needs to will undoubtedly help him improve what’s an already strong B grade. Sonny Gray 5 Starts, 2-1, 4.30 ERA, 23.0 IP, 13 SO, 5 BB, .269 AVG, 4.49 FIP, 0.0 WAR Much like the rest of the members of Boston’s rotation to start 2026, Sonny Gray has had an up-and-down first month-plus. It began with a lackluster performance in game two of the season in Cincinnati, allowing three earned and making a costly error over four, then back-to-back solid outings against San Diego and Milwaukee that produced two wins for his new club. A horrendous outing in Minnesota where he allowed five on nine hits over four innings, and a start on Patriots’ day that looked to be heading in the right direction before leaving with a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since that start on April 20. While Gray’s starts have been hit-or-miss, the advanced metrics haven’t done him any favors so far. After finishing the last two seasons with 200+ strikeouts, it’s been interesting, or maybe more appropriate, concerning, to see that Gray has struggled to get hitters to chase (23rd percentile), whiff (11 percentile) and strikeout (7th percentile). With such an inconsistent start to the season, and an injury derailing a further look at if Gray can bring those advanced statistics up, he finds himself with a passable C grade to begin his Red Sox career. Zack Kelly 10 Games, 0-1, 3.48 ERA, 10.1 IP, 8 SO, 2 BB, .194 AVG, 3.41 FIP, 0.1 WAR They say the more things change the more they stay the same and as the 2026 season has gotten underway, Zack Kelly continues to do Zack Kelly things. To a non-Red Sox fan reading that, what it means is that he’ll look excellent one game, and completely melt down in the next. Kelly however has decided to go the route of breaking those inconsistencies up into five-game stretches thus far. In his first five outings, he sported a 6.75 ERA and 5.03 FIP with four hits, and four earned runs allowed over 5.1 while striking out three and walking one. However, in his final five outings before May, he completely turned things around with an ERA of 0.00, FIP of 1.75, and allowing only three hits and zero earned runs while once again walking one and striking out five. Along with the recent stretch of success he’s been on, where Kelly has really shined this season is dropping his BB%, something that has been lowered every year of his career so far to an outstanding 4.3%, securing a spot in the elite 9th percentile and earning a solid B- grade. Jovani Moran 9 Games, 0-0, 2.41 ERA, 18.1 IP, 16 SO, 10 BB, .156 AVG, 4.56 FIP, 0.3 WAR If Craig Breslow was ever looking for a prime example to say; “You know, I do know what I’m doing here,” he should look no further than Jovani Moran. It seemed like a bit of a head-scratcher when the Red Sox moved on from all of their left-handed reliever options this past offseason, leaving Moran, and at the time his career 4.26 ERA in four seasons, three of which where he finished with it 5.00+, as the only option behind the proven Aroldis Chapman. However, perhaps choosing to judge Moran solely on his 6.75 ERA in just four innings of work was unfair as a look into his Baseball Savant page showed Moran had actually pitched above league average to even elite rankings. Jump ahead to 2026 and he has seemingly silenced the doubters as not only has he been able to build off those strong numbers, specifically continuing his elite showings in getting swings-and-misses (80th percentile) and limiting hard hit rates (95th percentile) but has lowered his ERA and averages against, turning him into one of Boston’s most trusted weapons out of the pen in pretty much any situation. In a season full of dark points and poor performances, Moran has been a much-needed bright spot as he finds himself with an A grade after the first month plus. Johan Oviedo 1 Game, 0-0, 9.82 ERA, 3.2 IP, 3 SO, 1 BB, .400 AVG, 10.30 FIP, -0.1 WAR They say first impressions are everything and if that’s the case then Johan Oviedo may have put together one of the worst first impressions Red Sox fans have ever had to sit through. After seemingly making the Opening Day roster as Boston’s No. 5 arm in their rotation, the decision was made to slowly ramp up fellow newcomer Ranger Suarez after he had spent most of his Spring Training with team Venezuela in the WBC, opening a spot for Connelly Early to make the rotation and push Oviedo to a multi-inning reliever role. In this role, his lone outing came in relief of Suarez’s Red Sox debut against Houston, a game they lost 8-1 and saw him give up six hits, four earned runs, and two home runs over 3.2 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. Besides the dreadful showing on the stat sheet, perhaps the most alarming aspect of this outing for Oviedo was that his velocity was down drastically across the board, losing 1.2 MPH on his curveball, 2.5 on his fastball, 3.0 on his sinker, and 3.2 on his slider. Oviedo’s tough start went from bad to worse when he was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 3rd with a flexor strain, and then subsequently moved to the 60-day on April 14th, meaning there’s a good chance we may not see him again this season. If that’s the case and this is the only game Red Sox fans have to go off of, no more than an F grade can be given to Oviedo. Eduardo Rivera 1 Game, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.1 IP, 3 SO, 0 BB, .100 AVG, 1.35 FIP, 0.1 WAR If much wasn’t known about Jack Anderson at the time of his call-up to the Red Sox, then it might not be so far-fetched to think that little to nothing was known about 22-year-old Eduardo Rivera, who made his major league debut on April 22nd against the New York Yankees. What made Rivera’s debut an intriguing one is that his major league debut actually came before his Triple-A one as he was fast-tracked to the big leagues after posting a 0.90 ERA, .167 average against, and 16 strikeouts in just 10 innings pitched in two starts with Double-A Portland. What also helped Rivera’s case was a strong showing for team Puerto Rico in this year’s World Baseball Classic, where he posted a 4.05 ERA and 12.2 K/9 over 6.2 innings pitched. His success continued in his debut as he not only limited the Yankees to one hit and zero runs over 3.1 innings, but showcased an absolutely dominant fastball, helping achieve an elite level Whiff% (42.1%) and Barrel% (0.0%). Even though it may have only been a short sample size, being able to make as potent a Yankees lineup look as lost as they did gives Rivera a ton of promise of being another young pitcher the Sox have been able to hit on recently and a well-deserved A+ grade to begin his big-league career. Tyler Samaniego 7 Games, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 8.1 IP, 8 SO, 4 BB, .143 AVG, 2.66 FIP, 0.3 WAR When Samaniego was acquired as part of the trade package from the Pirates that also gifted the Red Sox Johan Oviedo, most fans and members who cover the team saw him as a bit of an unknown but solid depth left-handed reliever for a team who worked to pretty much blow that depth up thanks to numerous other offseason trades. Fast-forward to March/April and Samaniego has actually become a bona fide weapon out of the bullpen, posting 8.1 shutout innings through his first seven big league appearances. Where he has really shined though is being able to avoid opposing hitters’ barrels and inducing soft contact with a 5.0% Barrel% and 35.0% Hard-Hit%, something not a lot of arms on the Red Sox staff have been able to do all that consistently thus far. With the low usage for Aroldis Chapman and rough start for Danny Coulombe, continued success for Samaniego going forward could further cement himself as a dominant left-handed option that the Sox should look to turn to in more high-leverage starts, garnering him an A+ grade. Justin Slaten 4 Games, 0-1, 0.00 ERA, 3.1 IP, 5 SO, 2 BB, .167 AVG, 1.95 FIP, 0.1 WAR It says a lot about the pitcher Justin Slaten is when you can feel his impact when he is and isn’t available for the Red Sox. When he is available, like he was during his first four appearances this season, he’s dominant, holding opposing hitters to a .167 average against while missing barrels (0.0 Barrel%) and avoiding hard contact (14.3 Hard-Hit%) and helping to create a nice bridge along with Garrett Whitlock to the ninth inning for Aroldis Chapman. When he isn’t out there though, like it’s been the case for most of this season and parts of last, the bullpen starts to crack and falls into disarray trying to find reliable arms to preserve leads and help lock down wins. With this in mind, even with the short sample size in 2026, Red Sox fans know how capable and important he is to the success of this bullpen, earning him an A grade and hope for a fast recovery from his oblique strain. Ranger Suárez 6 Starts, 2-2, 3.09 ERA, 35.0 IP, 29 SO, 9 BB, .197 AVG, 3.35 FIP, 0.7 WAR With a poor showing for Venezuela in the WBC, and even worse first two outings in a Red Sox uniform to begin his tenure in Boston, many fans and media members were left wondering if Ranger Suarez was going to live up to the No. 2 status he was given when he signed his five-year, $130 million contract this past offseason. Since those two starts against Houston and San Diego, where he allowed a combined eight earned runs over 8.1 innings pitched, Suarez has been dominant in three of his last four, going 2-1 while allowing just four earned runs and striking out 24 over 26.2 innings to help lower his ERA and BABIP from 8.64 and .393 to 3.09 and .231. What’s made him such a different pitcher during this stretch as opposed to his first two appearances is he not only has strayed away from trying to be too fine on the edges of the zone, but he’s begun relying on his other offerings rather than leaning so heavily on his sinker-changeup combo as he had been. With the injury to Garrett Crochet, Suarez’s emergence couldn’t have come at a better time as Boston will look to him to anchor the rotation, continuing this run of lockdown pitching that nets him a B+ grade through the first month plus. Payton Tolle 2 Starts, 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 10.2 IP, 15 SO, 5 BB, .162 AVG, 2.93 FIP, 0.3 WAR When Payton Tolle burst onto the scene in 2025, going toe-to-toe in his big league debut with eventual NL Cy-Young award winner Paul Skenes, Red Sox fans very quickly learned two things about him: he had a big fastball and an even bigger personality. But even with the high velocity and great movement, that big fastball proved to be somewhat of his undoing as opposing teams quickly figured out that it was his crutch – with a 64% usage rate – and swiftly made him pay. Heading into 2026, the Red Sox tasked Tolle with becoming more of a complete pitcher like fellow southpaw Connelly Early, and did he do just that in his first outing against the Yankees where he dominated allowing just one run on three hits while striking out 11 over six innings pitched, while also showcasing a newly improved repertoire that featured a reworked cutter and curveball as well as the addition of a nasty sinker. Taking a step back in his next outing against Toronto, where he walked four and allowed 3 earned runs over 4.2 innings, it showed that as electrifying and charismatic as Tolle can be, there is still some tinkering that needs to be done under the hood. The stuff is definitely heading in the right direction though, earning him a B grade through his first two outings of 2026. Tyler Uberstine 1 Game, 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 2.2 IP, 2 SO, 1 BB, .300 AVG, 7.65 FIP, -0.1 WAR Tyler Uberstine became the first of a few new faces the Red Sox have since called up from Worcester so far this season when he made his MLB debut on April 5th against the San Diego Padres – replacing the injured Johan Oviedo. While not much was known about Uberstine, aside from a 6.14 ERA in 7.1 innings in Spring Training, he did his job in that game, working two scoreless innings allowing the Red Sox to tie things up 6-6 before surprisingly to some, being sent back out in the 8th only to be met by Jackson Merrill and the only run he’d surrender, a solo home run that would prove to be the difference and hand Uberstine an unfortunate loss in his debut. He now finds himself on the IL after suffering a shoulder injury with Worcester on April 16, but when he hopefully returns, gives the Red Sox an intriguing option that showed an ability to miss bats (30.8 Whiff%) and make hitters guess (35.3 Chase%) at the big-league level, earning him a solid C+ grade. Ryan Watson 13 Games, 0-0, 6.62 ERA, 17.2 IP, 11 SO, 7 BB, .301 AVG, 5.61 FIP, -0.3 WAR When the Red Sox acquired Ryan Watson from the Athletics in a Rule 5 Draft day trade, one would think Red Sox fans couldn’t help but think the Sox had a chance to go three-for-three on Rule 5 acquired arms after the successes of Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten. Fast-forward to now, and that sentiment hasn’t held true as Watson has come nowhere close to capturing the same success. Watson has put together an elite start at getting downhill towards hitters with an Extension percentage that sits in the 95th percentile. This ability doesn’t seem to matter to those hitters however, as he’s had an incredibly difficult time getting hitters to chase anything in his repertoire (26th percentile), let alone strike out (14th percentile in K%) or avoid being barreled up which sits in the dreadfully low 7th percentile. With other arms working their way back from injuries, and plenty of options shining down in Worcester to start the season, the clock may be ticking on Watson to turn things around or run the risk of the Sox sending him on his way along with the F grade he has earned thus far. Greg Weissert 14 Games, 0-1, 5.11 ERA, 12.1 IP, 17 SO, 4 BB, .275 AVG, 5.55 FIP, -0.3 WAR Coming off a breakout year in 2025, where he put up a career best 2.82 ERA and 3.67 FIP in 72 outings, Greg Weissert had seemingly cemented himself among the likes of Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, and Justin Slaten as a trusted, late-inning weapon in Boston’s projected dominant looking bullpen. His start to 2026 in the WBC for team Italy also helped back this belief up as he managed five strikeouts and zero earned runs over 3.1 innings pitched across three outings, racking up big out after big out. Back with Boston, that same success hasn’t carried over as Weissert has been anything but dominant or a trusted arm to get out of big spots as Weissert has already allowed 11 inherited runners to score this season, tied for the 7th most in the league. While this grade will come down more so on the eye test than anything else, one that hasn’t been good at all, what should give fans hope of a potential Weissert turn around are that his Chase%, Whiff%, and K% are all up substantially from where they were a year ago, with his Chase and K numbers in the elite 93rd and 90th percentiles. The advanced metrics may indicate a turnaround could be coming for Weissert with a little more luck, but with how ineffective he’s been so far, mainly struggling to keep the ball in the ballpark, with four homers allowed already after giving up six in 67.0 innings last year, the aforementioned eye test has him sitting with a D- grade to start. Garrett Whitlock 11 Games, 2-1, 3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP, 13 SO, 5 BB, .195 AVG, 4.48 FIP, 0.2 WAR It’s been a bit of a strange start to the 2026 campaign for Garrett Whitlock as at first glance he seems to be operating as his usual dominant and reliable self, holding opposing hitters to a .195 average against and avoiding any sort of hard contact with a Hard-Hit% in the 93rd percentile. What’s interesting with Whitlock is diving deeper into some of his advanced stats, he has appeared to have regressed from an elite level arm to roughly league average across numerous noteworthy categories including: Chase% (97th to 62nd), Whiff% (93rd to 43rd), xERA (93rd to 42nd) and xBA (91st to 50th). Right now, all the Red Sox can hope for is that Whitlock, who earns a B grade through March/April can continue operating with a little bit of luck as he tries to return to that consistently elite level arm he’s accustomed to being. View full article

Heading into the 2026 season, the common questions surrounding this version of the Boston Red Sox were: “Does this team have enough to hit?” and “Where is the power going to come from in this lineup?” Well, outside of seemingly just Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras, both viable answers to those questions, the jury still seems to be out on the other 11 hitters on the roster. And as if their 12-19 start wasn’t bad enough, the offense has gotten off to a dreadful start ranking near or at the bottom of both the AL and MLB, including: 12th in K% (9th worst in AL) 24th in Runs Scored (4th worst in AL) 24th in Batting Average (4th worst in AL) 25th in On Base Percentage (worst in AL only ahead of NY Mets) 29th in Home Runs (worst in AL, only ahead of San Francisco) 29th in Slugging Percentage (worst in AL only ahead of NY Mets) 29th in wRC+ (worst in AL, only ahead of NY Mets) The positive takeaway is there’s plenty of time to turn things around just one month into the season, and an attempt to do so has already been made with the dismissal of former hitting coach Pete Fatse. The concern, though, is that the team may have already dug itself a hole too deep to climb out of. Here’s a look at grades for all 13 of Boston’s hitters for March and April. (Note, all players who appeared in at least one game in March/April have been listed in alphabetical order by last name to help easily review.) Grading Every Red Sox Hitter from April 2026 Wilyer Abreu 30 Games, .307/.373/.482/.855, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 11 XBH, 142 OPS+, 136 wRC+, 7 DRS, 1.7 WAR The decision to make Wilyer Abreu an everyday staple of Boston’s lineup as opposed to one who usually sits versus lefties seems to have paid off so far, as the two-time Gold Glove winner has blossomed into the Red Sox best all-around hitter through the first month and change. Abreu has seen his numbers against lefties jump so significantly from 2025, where he slashed .230/.299/.377/.676, to now hitting .375/.444/.438/.882, that he’s actually performing better against them than righties in all categories except slugging percentage, making him a consistently tough out in Boston’s otherwise struggling lineup. Abreu has been on a tear right from the jump, hitting .400 through the first five games of March and continuing that success right through April where he did not see his average fall below .280. The biggest contributing factors to this success so far can be traced back to the fact that Abreu has cut back on his Chase% from 29.0% to 27.2%, Whiff% from 24.0% to 20.7%, and K% from 24.2% to 17.5% which has allowed him to drastically increase the number of balls he’s squaring up, from 21.9% (16th percentile) in 2025 to 26.6% (60th percentile) so far this season. In an offense that has struggled tremendously so far, and has looked for any signs of consistency, Abreu has been one of the few bright spots. Couple that with his continuously stellar defense with 7 Defensive Runs Saved already and his superb all-around play nets him an A+ grade. Roman Anthony 26 Games, .208/.339/.292/.631, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 XBH, 82 OPS+, 80 wRC+, 3 DRS, 0.4 WAR Prior to the 2026 campaign, the stage was set for the pressure to be immense on Roman Anthony as not only was he garnering MVP predictions from some, but was already being looked at as the next face of the organization at only 21 years old. Now with a full month plus to look back on it seems like you can add de facto clubhouse leader to the list of things on Anthony’s plate as he continues to be one of the first players in front of the cameras & microphones night after night, and you’re left to wonder if that is starting to take a toll on the budding star. To say Anthony’s start to the year has fallen short of expectations would be an understatement. After a strong opening series in Cincinnati, Anthony has been hit with looking caught in between at the plate (24th percentile in K% and 21st in Whiff%), troubles throwing in the outfield, and a back injury that further derailed an already underwhelming season. Anthony is still managing to find his way on base (91st percentile in BB%) and hitting the ball hard (75th percentile), but with just a single home run, five RBI, and currently sitting with the third most strikeouts on the team with 32, the production hasn’t been there nearly enough and is one of the biggest reasons why the Red Sox offense has looked as anemic as it has, earning Anthony a D grade. Willson Contreras 30 Games, .262/.375/.486/.861, 7 HR, 20 RBI, 10 XBH, 143 OPS+, 138 wRC+, 3 DRS, 1.3 WAR Things got off to a bit of a slow start for Willson Contreras in a Red Sox uniform, as he was saddled with a rather unlucky 2-for-17 start with his new club. They say patience is a virtue though, and boy did that ever ring true, as Contreras now leads the Red Sox in: Slugging Percentage, OPS, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, OPS+, and wRC+, while not being too far behind Wilyer Abreu for the team lead in WAR as well. While everyone will point to Contreras’ production at the plate and strong veteran presence in the dugout as his biggest contributions since coming over from St. Louis, an overlooked aspect of his game that has made a significant difference thus far is how he has stabilized a first base position that has been crying out for just that for what has felt like ages, tallying three Defensive Runs Saved and, once again, and team-high five Outs Above Average. If it wasn’t for the aforementioned Abreu, Contreras may take the title as Boston’s best hitter in the lineup so far, but with a little bit more swing and miss in his game (team high 36.1 Whiff%), he falls just behind his fellow Venezuelan teammate. All things considered, Contreras’ well-rounded game still passes this first month plus with flying colors, granting him an A grade on the report card. Jarren Duran 26 Games, .170/.231/.250/.481, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 6 XBH, 37 OPS+, 31 wRC+, 2 DRS, -0.1 WAR The start to Jarren Duran’s 2026 has been anything but ideal whether you want to focus on his underperformance on the field, his run-in with a fan in Minnesota who he flipped off in retaliation for shouting derogatory comments towards him according to Duran, or his standoffish treatment of the media when asked to comment on the recent firing of Alex Cora, which he met with a side-eye and dismissive backhanded wave away. For the sake of this grade though, I’ll choose to focus on the on-field play that has been anything but up-to-expectations so far. Through his first 26 games, Duran ranks dead last among Boston’s hitters in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging, OPS, OPS+, and wRC+ with a -0.1 WAR that is second worst only behind Carlos Narvaez’s -0.3. Similarly to Roman Anthony, Duran has looked lost at the plate numerous times this season, so much so that he has begun shuffling through different stances, hand positions, and toe-taps/strides at the plate on a nightly and sometimes at-bat to at-bat basis. None of his adjustments seem to be making a mark though, as he has found himself well below league average in numerous advanced statistics as well, most notably his Whiff% (6th percentile), Chase% (22nd) and Squared-Up% (33rd) which may be contributing to his lack of power so far, with just six extra-base hits, and what undoubtedly hands him an F grade through the first month plus. At least he seems to be turning things around in May. Caleb Durbin 29 Games, .172/.261/.263/.524, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 7 XBH, 50 OPS+, 46 wRC+, 4 DRS, 0.3 WAR Much like fellow newcomer from the NL Central Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin’s Red Sox career got off to a bit of a slow start, just of a more extreme variety beginning the year on a 1-for-22 skid, and at one point 0 for his first 19. While his turnaround doesn’t come close to the resurgence that Contreras has had, there have been some things to like about Durbin’s game that may start to win over the fanbase if he can continue in the right direction. To start, Durbin was able to close out the month of April hitting safely in five of the final six games, helping bring his batting average up to .172. Still not ideal, but significantly better than his .045 mark to begin the month. When it comes to his approach at the plate, while he is still struggling to barrel the ball up (1.2%, 4th percentile), Durbin isn’t really chasing (78th percentile), or swinging-and-missing (95th in Whiff%, 87th in K%) all that much, leading one to believe the continuation of good at-bats will lead to better outcomes. Where he has shined brightest without question, though, is in the field where he has looked solid at third base, accumulating four Defensive Runs Saved, two Outs Above Average, and a few solid highlights, including most recently a diving stop to preserve Ranger Suarez’s no-hit bid at the time against Toronto. While it hasn’t been a superb start for Durbin by any means, there have been enough improvements through the first month to grant him a (generous) D+ grade. Isiah Kiner-Falefa 14 Games, .229/.270/.229/.499, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 0 XBH, 44 OPS+, 38 wRC+, 1 DRS, 0.0 WAR When the Red Sox surprisingly (and questionably) gave Isiah Kiner-Falefa $6 million this offseason, the belief was he’d come in and be a platoon option at second-base with Marcelo Mayer against lefties, be an option to get Trevor Story some rest if needed at short, and be a veteran presence in the clubhouse that was lost when Alex Bregman was kicked out the door. Through just 14 games, second fewest on the team only ahead of Connor Wong, it seems like Kiner-Falefa is only doing one of those things, and not even all that well. While he has looked slightly better at the dish of late, coming up with some clutch hits and producing all three of his RBIs to the tune of a .286 average and .571 OPS in the final five games of April, the results haven’t justified the investment with Kiner-Falefa. His defense, bunting, and base running abilities, all supposed strengths of his game, haven't been average to below at best. And when he is making contact, there aren’t many fireworks there either with zero extra base hits and an Average Exit Velocity of 81.7, exponentially below league average. His end to April is the only thing that truly saves him from an F grade on his first report card of the season, coming out with a D grade. That being said, one wonders how many more report cards he may even be a part of with the likes of Nate Eaton, Nick Sogard, Kristian Campbell, Mickey Gasper, and even spring training roster invitee Vinny Capra all off to better starts in Worcester, ready to replace him if given the opportunity. Marcelo Mayer 27 Games, .253/.321/.373/.695, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 XBH, 97 OPS+, 91 wRC+, 0 DRS, 0.2 WAR If Masataka Yoshida was the leader in the clubhouse on questions of where he would fit into the construction of this Red Sox roster, then Marcelo Mayer was the leader whether he would even be on it. Between offseason trade rumors for Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte, to former manager Alex Cora directly saying Mayer had to earn his roster spot leading some to believe a trip to Worcester was on the table for Mayer, there wasn’t much certainty for the second-year pro. Despite all the noise, Mayer put together a strong spring training and earned that Opening Day roster nod, and despite not being in the lineup to start, was able to come through with two clutch at-bats to help secure Boston’s 3-0 victory. Mayer did cool off quite a bit after a hot start in Cincinnati but has seemed to turn a corner once again as in his final 10 games of April, slashed .417/.462/.542/1.003 with 10 hits and four RBI. Through March/April, defense has continued to be Mayer’s calling card, fully taking over the second base role and racking up two Defensive Runs Saved, good for an elite level 89th percentile. Where Mayer has shown tremendous strides though is his approach at the plate, as he’s not only decreased his Chase% from 29.6% in 2025, to 23.7% this season, but cut his K% practically in half from 30.1% to 16.3%, which is good enough to spot him a B- grade out of the gate. Andruw Monasterio 15 Games, .227/.292/.386/.678, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 5 XBH, 91 OPS, 84 wRC+, 0 DRS, 0.1 WAR After being acquired as part of the package that brought Caleb Durbin to Boston from Milwaukee, Andruw Monasterio’s opportunity to make the roster came thanks to an offseason injury to lefty-killer utility man Romy Gonzalez. It seemed like that would be the role Monasterio, who slashed .273/.360/.477/.837 with two home runs and 10 RBI last year, would be taking on heading in to 2026. As we turn the calendar to May, it seems that might not necessarily be the case. Monasterio actually has more plate appearances against righties (26) than lefties (22) and has seen far more success against them too, owning a .280/.308/.400/.708 line with seven hits against them, compared to his .158/.273/.368/.641 one with just three hits against lefties. While the numbers don’t jump off the page by any means, Monasterio has been a fine utility bench option who has worked counts and fill in wherever the Red Sox have needed him to so far with at least one appearance at every infield spot — netting him with a C grade to start the 2026 campaign. Carlos Narvaez 19 Games, .234/.258/.359/.617, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 XBH, 74 OPS+, 65 wRC+, -2 DRS, -0.3 WAR After a breakout campaign in 2025, expectations were high for fan-favorite catcher Carlos Narvaez to build off an impressive all-around rookie campaign both offensively and behind the plate. While Narvaez has still been elite behind the plate in terms of Blocks Above Average (97th percentile) and Framing (98th percentile), he has seen his Caught Stealing Above Average drop from the 98th percentile to the 70th percentile as well as his Pop Time increase from 1.92 to 1.98. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Narvaez’s early season struggles, apart from a slow start at the plate that he started to turn around at the end of April (.763 OPS with two homers and three RBI in the final 10 games), has to be his poor ABS performance. A spot where many figured Narvaez would shine due to his excellent command of the strike zone behind the plate has been anything but as he’s won just 33% of his challenges (4/12) on a meager 1.1% Challenge Rate. If there is a positive takeaway to be had with Narvaez and the ABS Challenge System, it’s that four of them led to a strikeout being gained as a result of challenging with one also resulting in a walk being taken away. While his start hasn’t been as poor as others, Narvaez definitely has not lived up to the expectations set for him before the season, leading to a C- grade. Ceddanne Rafaela 29 Games, .263/.333/.379/.712, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 7 XBH, 102 OPS+, 98 wRC+, 0 DRS, 0.3 WAR When it comes to Ceddanne Rafaela, you have a pretty good understanding of what you’re going to get, elite defense in centerfield and a bat that will be as hot as a pistol when he’s locked in and cold as ice when he’s chasing out of the strike zone. Or perhaps, that might be pre-2026 Rafaela, as so far this season it’s been his defense that has taken a slight backseat out of the gate in favor of a much better approach at the plate that includes a surprising amount of patience through his first 29 games. Now while there have been a couple of miscues in center field, there have still been plenty of outstanding catches that suggest nothing drastic has changed in that aspect of his game. What’s worth noting specifically in Rafaela’s hitting is he has drastically improved two areas of his game that plagued him tremendously in 2025, that being Chase% (2nd percentile), and BB% (7th percentile), both of which have climbed to the 16th and 15th percentiles in their respective categories. And while the power hasn’t come just yet, one other improvement to his game offensively is Rafaela appears to be having more success at squaring up the ball this year, as that percentage has climbed from the 39th percentile in 2025 to the 62nd in 2026. There’s a lot to like about where Rafaela’s game is at right now with hope that his offensive numbers continue to improve and defense stays at its elite level, securing himself a B grade. Trevor Story 30 Games, .197/.237/.295/.532, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 8 XBH, 50 OPS+, 41 wRC+, -1 DRS, 0.0 WAR Coming off his best season in a Red Sox uniform, one where he was finally healthy, slugging 25 home runs and 96 RBI with an OPS of .741 in 157 games, many wondered if Trevor Story had an encore performance in him, with the added pressure of starting the year as Boston’s No. 2 hitter with the exit of Alex Bregman. Some doubted this belief and as we sit here now 30 games into Story’s season, those doubters may be able to take a victory lap. Outside of a two-week stretch from April 6th to the 17th, where he was coincidentally removed from the two-hole in the lineup and slashed .282/.302/.436/.738 with one home run and 15 of his 17 RBI this season, Story has been simply abysmal. Not only seeing his decline in the field continue to deteriorate with a Range and Arm Strength in the 31st and 22nd percentiles to go along with a team high four errors, but at the plate as well with extremely low Whiff (27th percentile), K (16th), BB% (12th) and Chase (2nd) percentages along with again a team-high 40 strikeouts. Factor in that Story was one of the most vocal and visibly upset members of the club when asked about Alex Cora’s dismissal, going so far as to publicly request a meeting with Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and question the direction of the franchise along with his struggles and you begin to see why he earns a D- grade to begin the season, with his only saving grace from a F being that two week stretch where he seemed to carry Boston’s offense at times. Connor Wong 13 Games, .243/.333/.378/.712, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5 XBH, 102 OPS+, 98 wRC+, 2 DRS, 0.6 WAR After an injury-riddled 2025 saw him lose his starting role to rookie newcomer Carlos Narvaez and an offseason that saw the Red Sox seemingly put an emphasis on catching depth with the amount of names they brought in via trade and free agency, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Connor Wong. Even after a lackluster spring training, Wong still managed to win a roster spot as Boston’s backup and through his first 13 games, has looked at times like there should be a conversation about him winning the starting gig back. In just 43 plate appearances, Wong’s five RBI and extra-base hits apiece have already come close to surpassing his totals in those two categories (seven & eight) than he had in all of 2025. What’s been encouraging from Wong, who has not been shy about noting how hampered he was a season ago at the plate due to nagging hands and finger injuries, is driving the ball with more authority as shown by his increased Hard-Hit and Squared-Up percentages. Wong has also been quite successful in utilizing MLB’s new ABS challenge system behind the dish, winning four out of his five challenges while also flipping a strikeout call in Boston’s favor. Even with a resurgence at the plate, where Wong still struggles — and where his grade takes a hit — is defensively behind the plate, where he owns a below-league-average Pop Time of 1.98 seconds and a -2 Blocks Above Average rate (15th percentile). Still, his strong contributions are worthy of a B- grade at the very least. Masataka Yoshida 18 Games, .265/.390/.327/.716, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3 XBH, 106 OPS+, 109 wRC+, -2 DRS, 0.0 WAR There may not be a player on the Red Sox roster that had a bigger question mark on them than Masataka Yoshida heading into the 2026 season. Not necessarily because of his ability, but where exactly was he going to play with Boston’s outfield logjam never truly addressed in the offseason? As the calendar turns to May, those same questions still haven’t really been answered as Yoshida has appeared in 18 games so far, only starting 13 (11 DH / 2 LF) and being used as a pinch hitter in five. When Yoshida has seen the field, he continues to show excellent patience (13.6% Whiff% and 15.3% BB%) and command of the strike zone (23.3% Chase% and 11.9% K%), something the rest of some of his teammates haven’t been so lucky with. There have been plenty of times so far this season where the Red Sox could have used Yoshida’s professional approach at the plate to help a slumping lineup, but with no end in sight to the outfield dilemma, and the fact he’s seen as a defensive liability there (-2 DRS) constantly limiting him to mainly DH duties, it doesn’t feel like he’s going to see any consistent playing time anytime soon to fully showcase those offensive talents. Add it all up, and he seems worthy of perhaps a generous and respectable B- grade to round out the March/April report card for Boston’s hitters. View full article

When the report came out Wednesday morning that OF/3B Nate Eaton was being recalled to the big-league club, Boston Red Sox fans were curious as to what the corresponding move would be. There were no signs of injury from Boston’s outfielders or the likes of Willson Contreras or Marcelo Mayer, who had both been banged up in the Toronto series — Contreras fouling a ball off his toe in game one, and Mayer tweaking his wrist on a tag at second in game two. As first pitch inched closer though, everyone’s worst fears were confirmed as it was Garrett Crochet who would be heading for a 15-day IL stint thanks to left shoulder inflammation, leaving an already inconsistent rotation without its ace who had seemingly turned things around in Boston’s 17-1 win over Baltimore after back-to-back rough outings. While Crochet told reporters he “began to feel some fatigue in his shoulder during his Saturday outing in Baltimore and is pretty confident he’ll be back in Boston’s rotation when he’s eligible in about two weeks,” per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Christopher Smith, this is an injury the already spiraling Red Sox team can’t afford to take lightly. The concern is already there for the Red Sox ace, but ramps up significantly when you learn this isn’t the first time he’s dealt with this type of injury. As Section 10 and 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Tyler Milliken wrote on X, “Crochet had a cortisone shot in that left shoulder due to inflammation in 2023. He had a setback during the rehab [and] ended up being out from June 15th to September 22nd.” Hopefully, the timeline for Crochet’s return is closer to his believed two weeks, rather than the three months he dealt with previously. With Crochet now on the shelf, the question isn’t just who the Red Sox turn to, it’s who can they realistically rely on his absence? Below is a look at the five arms Boston will need to lean on until Crochet returns and a ranking of how confident they and fans should be in their abilities to rise to the occasion. Honorable Mention: Sonny Gray. It is worth noting that Gray will eventually be returning from his hamstring injury suffered on Patriots Day and when he does, that will surely help to enhance Boston’s rotation with a veteran leader that will be missed in Crochet’s absence. Until then though, we’ll be sticking with the five sure options the Red Sox currently have at their disposal. Ranking Confidence in Red Sox's Best Starters Without Garrett Crochet 5. Brayan Bello 2026 Stats: 6 starts, 1-4, 9.12 ERA, 25.2 IP, 17 SO, 15 BB, 2.26 WHIP, .374 AVG Any hopes of a Brayan Bello turnaround under new manager Chad Tracy may have been dashed away Wednesday afternoon as he struggled again, allowing four earned runs on six hits while walking and striking out two over 3.2 innings pitched, and was visibly upset after getting the hook from Tracy after just 63 pitches and not being allowed to face Toronto’s lineup a third time through. Where Bello excels is getting hitters to swing-and-miss and put the ball on the ground, with whiff and ground ball rates both in the 86th percentile, both elite showings for a sinker-baller such as himself. It's there where his biggest problem lies, though, as it feels like start to start Bello is struggling to determine what other pitches in his repertoire he wants to attack hitters with. He’s essentially turned himself into a two- or three-pitch pitcher, with a mix of: sinker (42%), cutter (26%), changeup (12%), sweeper (10%), curveball (7%), four-seamer (3%). Bello has the capabilities to step up right now; heck, he was arguably their second-best starter behind Crochet just last season. But where Bello’s struggles may stem from, the mental aspect of his game, something that was thought to be figured out a year ago but is trending backward this year, raises concerns about his reliability moving forward. 4. Jake Bennett 2026 Stats (AAA): 5 starts, 2-1, 0.86 ERA, 21.0 IP, 16 SO, 3 BB, 0.71 WHIP, .162 AVG Red Sox fans won’t have to wait long to see if Jake Bennett can fill the void left by Crochet as he’s slated to start Friday’s series opener against the Astros, a spot that originally was Crochet’s before the injury announcement. In five starts for Worcester this season, Bennett has been dominant, holding opposing hitters to a .162/.215/.176/.391 slash line while also constantly attacking hitters, owning a 5.33 K/BB and 0.71 WHIP. The key question is how Bennett will attack hitters at the big league level as he has been operating with a five pitch mix that includes a sinker (26.5% usage, four-seamer (25.4%), changeup (20.9%), curveball (13.4%) and cutter (13.1%) with varied velocity across that mix. As the Red Sox look for reinforcements to hold things down while Crochet is out, the hope is Bennett can follow the example of fellow young southpaws Payton Tolle and Connelly Early who have quickly found their footing in Boston. I think he can give them some more consistency than Bello has shown to be capable of so far, which is why he’s slotted ahead of the right-hander on this list. 3. Payton Tolle 2026 Stats: 2 starts, 0-1, 3.38 ERA, 10.2 IP, 15 SO, 5 BB, 1.03 WHIP, .162 AVG Speaking of Payton Tolle, he’s had a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde start to his 2026 campaign. After dominating the Yankees in his season debut to a tune of 11 strikeouts, one walk, three hits, and one earned run over six strong innings and 93 pitches, he followed that up with a less-than-stellar outing allowing three earned runs on three hits, four walks, and four strikeouts over 4.2 innings and 68 pitches against the Blue Jays. When it comes to looking the part in Crochet’s absence, the 6’6”, 250lb lefty has that more than covered. In terms of matching the nastiness that Crochet usually brings on a nightly basis however, Tolle will need to tap back into what made him so successful in that first Yankees start: not being afraid to pound the strike zone. That's what gets swings and misses, and that is what has led to his elite 35.7 K% (97th percentile) and 34.2 Whiff% (92nd percentile). Continuing to utilize his more balanced pitch arsenal that no longer relies solely on the four-seamer as it did a season ago (usage down from 64% in 25’ to 52% in 26’) will keep hitters guessing on how he might attack them. 2. Connelly Early 2026 Stats: 6 starts, 2-1, 2.84 ERA, 31.2 IP, 28 SO, 14 BB, 1.20 WHIP, .212 AVG If Tolle will be tasked with bringing the fire and raw emotion that Crochet pitches with on a nightly basis, then Connelly Early will complement that with his finesse and solid command style of pitching. While Early’s Baseball Savant page won’t blow you away, as he currently sits at either league average, or slightly below league average, in practically evert category, what stands out is that he has already shown in his short MLB career that he knows how to lock in and make the big pitches when he needs to and never appears to be overwhelmed by the situation. Crochet’s ability to slow the game down and keep his composure in a big spot may be an underlying aspect of his game that will be missed by Boston in order to keep innings from snowballing on them. However, if Early can continue to tap into that skillset of his own, something that Sox fans will remember was on display during last year’s AL Wild Card Round in Yankee Stadium, it may go a long way to helping keep this rotation afloat. 1. Ranger Suárez 2026 Stats: 6 starts, 2-2, 3.09 ERA, 35.0 IP, 29 SO, 9 BB, 0.94 WHIP, .197 AVG The obvious choice to step in and take the reins of the rotation while Crochet is out is undoubtedly Ranger Suárez, who has started to look the part of a co-ace after his rocky start in Boston. Since his two clunkers against Houston and San Diego to start the year (8.64 ERA, .371 BA, 13.0 K%, 8.0 BB%, 47.0 HardHit%), Suárez has looked like every bit of the pitcher the Red Sox expected him to be when brought him in to be the number two option behind Crochet. Suárez has managed a quality start in three out of his last four outings, only allowing four earned runs over 26.2 innings pitched while managing to hold hitters to a feeble .126 average. Factor in a 26 K%, 6 BB% and HardHit% of 34%, and you have a verified stud on the mound. What has made him more effective during this stretch is his willingness to stray away from being so sinker (29% usage) and changeup (19%) heavy as he was his first couple of starts which seemingly made him slightly too predictable. He's starting to trust his excellent secondary offerings including his cutter (20%), four-seamer (17%) and curveball (14%), all of which have continued to see upticks in usage over his last four starts. While a Crochet injury obviously isn’t an ideal situation to be dealing with, especially given how the Red Sox season has already gone so far, Suárez is more than capable of leading the starting five in his absence. View full article

Not much was known about 28-year old Ryan Watson when he was acquired by the Boston Red Sox back in December in a complicate process in which he was selected and then promptly traded by the Athletics in the Rule 5 Draft. Then again, the same could be said about Garrett Whitlock after he was taken from the Yankees' minor league system in 2021, and Justin Slaten when he was acquired from the Mets via trade in 2024. It was the continued success of those two however, that gave fans some hope that the Red Sox could once again strike gold via the Rule 5 Draft, something most teams don’t usually hit on once let alone potentially three times. On paper, Watson profiled as an arm that checked a lot of boxes the Red Sox have gravitated towards in their recent reliever acquisitions. Pitching for Sacramento, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, the 6-5 righty with great extension and a five-pitch mix owned a 4.26 ERA and 3.73 FIP across 50.2 innings while amassing 11.37 K/9 (28.1 K%) and 2.84 BB/9 (7.0 BB%) ratios. Those who follow FanGraphs will know that while those walk numbers put him into the average (2.9 BB/9, 7.7 BB%) to above-average (2.5 BB/9, 6.5 BB%) tier, his strikeout numbers graded out as excellent. It was those numbers one would think that made Watson a standout target for Breslow and ones he’d hoped Watson would carry over in his opportunity with Boston. Now ten appearances into his big-league career, and the owner of a 8.10 ERA and 7.38 FIP, it would appear the only thing Watson has carried over (outside of continuing to throw the kitchen sink at hitters), is his borderline elite ability to get downhill. His 7.2 feet of extension is good for the 95th percentile across MLB. After that, not much else has gone right; he’s not attacking hitters nearly enough to consistently be successful, and when he is, they’re lighting him up. Watson finds himself in just the second percentile in K% (10.5%) and 27th percentile in BB% (12.3%), both far cries from what made him such an appealing option to the Red Sox in the first place. Add in a league-average 25.3 Whiff% (48th percentile), a lack of chase on really any of the pitches in his repertoire (23.1%, 11th percentile), and the fact that he’s getting barreled up at a pretty frequent pace (16.3 Barrel%, 7th percentile) and 44.2% HardHit% (31st percentile), and you have a pitcher who is flirting with danger pretty much every time he steps out on the mound. Those choosing to come to Watson’s defense may argue that it is far too early to write him off after just 13.1 innings in the majors. Instead, time must be given to him like it was expected to be given to Whitlock and Slaten, who, similarly to Watson, were looked at as multi-inning arms out of the bullpen in their rookie campaigns. That argument falls apart rather quickly though when you look back and realize just how soon both were able to shed that label and become legitimate weapons and important pieces to Boston’s bullpens during those seasons. The 2021 campaign saw Whitlock dominate right out of the gate on route to becoming one of the most trusted relievers the Red Sox have had to this date. In his first ten outings, he accumulated a 1.77 ERA and 2.97 FIP over 20.1 innings pitched with a strong 9.30 K/9 (27 K%) and 1.33 BB/9 (4 BB%). If there was a spot where Whitlock struggled similarly to Watson, it was in his HardHit%, which came in at 46%, though the former was far better at keeping away from danger, holding opponents to a measly .227 average against. Fans will remember Slaten’s 2024 debut as the spot where he was tasked with coming into the 10th inning of a 3-3 game on Opening Day in Seattle and being asked to get out of a first-and-third, zero-outs jam with Mariners star Julio Rodriguez at the plate. As we all know that matchup went to Rodriguez, who walked off Slaten and the Sox, ruining the start to his big-league career. Following that, he absolutely dominated in his next 10 outings, pitching to a tune of an 1.40 ERA and 2.07 FIP in 17.1 innings with a 7.27 K/9 (23 K%) and similarly to Whitlock, outstanding 1.04 BB/9 (3 BB%). Contrary to what Watson has done so far, Slaten was also able to stay away from opponents' barrels, with a HardHit% of just 37% and opponents average of .140. While it is a totally fair case to make for giving rookies time to adjust to the top level, Watson, who is older and therefore should arguably be more polished, has not done a whole lot to instill any confidence in continuing to send him out there. Especially when he hasn’t been able to do the main thing that garnered him praise from Alex Cora in spring training when he was fighting for a roster spot: pound the strike zone. What may also be damning for Watson — outside of another rough outing yesterday where he entered the ninth with a five-run lead and ended up giving way to Aroldis Chapman to secure what became an 8-6 Boston victory — is the fact that the organization has not been shy at bringing up reinforcements so far this season. We’ve already seen the debuts of Tyler Uberstine, Tyler Samaniego, and Jack Anderson. With the likes of Payton Tolle (three starts, 3.00 ERA, 15.0 IP), Jake Bennett (four starts, 0.55 ERA, 16.1 IP), Seth Martinez (six appearances, 2.51 ERA, 14.1 IP), Devin Sweet (seven appearances, 3.86 ERA, 11.2 IP) and Tayron Guerrero (seven appearances, 1.42 ERA, 6.1 IP) all off to strong starts in Worcester, it’s beginning to feel like Watson may need to go on his Whitlock/Slaten-type run sooner rather than later if he wants to continue Boston’s trend of Rule 5 Draft Pick supremacy. Otherwise, he may wind up with a one-way ticket back to Sacramento. View full article

Hmmm, since we apparently are out to get Story right now I'm thinking either the "Story Slammers" or "Story Silencers" but definitely workshopping ideas

Soooo.... the last time I checked, the analytics referenced in the article that clearly showcase a decline in Story's defensive ability are indeed facts.... since it's actual data that showcases he's been bad defensively. Not like those are made up or anything. He's also getting older.... players tend to decline when they get older, their abilities diminish, like his have been. So most teams and people thinking critically would see that, while also seeing a younger option that can step in and be solid there, when that should be the plan for the future before Franklin Arias gets here, and maybe consider it for the betterment of the team. 2024 Story also only played 26 games, kinda weird you left that out in your argument for him and it's not like I said to bench him, just move him to a spot that takes some pressure off him and where he was borderline elite before. If you'd prefer to keep running him out there though with his declining numbers over someone who's 10 years younger than him though to each their own I guess.

If you were to ask a Boston Red Sox fan to give you a list of some of their top contributing factors to the team's massively underwhelming start to the season, it would be a safe bet that the play of Trevor Story would fall near the top of every single one. Now, if you asked those same people to pick which aspect of Story’s game has frustrated them the most, 99% of them would probably say his hitting, choosing to focus on things like his abysmal slash line (.208/.222/.338) or astonishingly below-league-average chase (47.2%), strikeout (2.5%), and walk (29.6%) rates. While Story’s continued offensive woes definitely deserve being called out, something that hasn’t been discussed nearly enough and is arguably just as, if not more, concerning is the rapid decline of his defensive capabilities at shortstop. With Story, anyone who has followed him throughout his career knows his streakiness at the plate comes with the name. But even with those inconsistencies, one thing he’s always been able to hang his hat on is his fantastic and at-times elite ability to pick it at short, where he owns a .977 career fielding percentage. For a team that prioritized defense and run prevention in the offseason, something that has become a bit of a running joke among the fanbase on social media now as they’ve continued to falter, the writing of Story’s decline was plastered all over the wall towards the end of last season. He ended the 2025 campaign tied for the American League lead in errors (19, alongside the Yankees’ Anthony Volpe), and third for the most errors in baseball, only behind Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz (26) and Washington’s C.J. Abrams (22). Of those 19, 11 were of the throwing variety, clearly indicating what should’ve been a concern for the Sox. The advanced analytics don’t paint much of a better picture either. His -7 Defensive Runs Saved put him at fifth-worst in the big leagues a season ago. His Rthrow, or Infield Throwing Runs Above Average — which takes into consideration the number of runs above or below average the player was worth based on how he completes the play given where the ball was fielded, how hard it was hit, and the speed of the runner (courtesy of Baseball Info Solutions) — was -5, which put him tied for third-worst among all qualified shortstops in 2025 (and second among AL shortstops). Likewise, his 36th-percentile arm strength and -9 Outs Above Average were among the worst figures among all shortstops. Transition back to this season . and Story’s numbers don’t appear to be improving, but actually getting worse. His four errors so far, three of which came in the first nine games of the season, places him behind only Rays third baseman Junior Caminero for the most in all of baseball. Not to mention his .935 Fielding Percentage is on pace to be a career low, his -2 OAA is only getting worse by the day, and his arm strength has slipped further to the 21st percentile. Story’s latest miscue, a ball in which he ranged up the middle, dove for, and tried to flip to second baseman Marcelo Mayer that resulted in his glove sailing further than the ball did in a 13-6 loss to the Twins, might not be a better example that it may be time to make a change in the Red Sox middle infield and flip both Story and Mayer. A move to second base shouldn’t come as an unfamiliar feeling to Story, who already went through the transition once in a Red Sox uniform when he played 94 games there in 2022 in his first year with the club. Of course, those circumstances were a little different with Xander Bogaerts still on the roster at the time. That being said, Story still thrived in the role, putting together one of the best defensive campaigns he’s ever had. His .984 Fielding Percentage was the second-best of his career in any healthy season, only behind the 2019 season where he finished with a .987.. His +6 Defensive Runs Saved was good for eighth-best among all second basemen league wide. Add in his 10 OAA, good for the 96th percentile in the league, and again second best of his career only behind 2019 where he had 18 with Colorado, and to say Story’s short-lived stint at second was downright elite might be an understatement. As for Marcelo Mayer, who has looked smooth at both third (.985%, 2 OAA in 39 games) and second (.974%, 2 OAA in 23 games) so far in his young career, a move back to his natural position of shortstop could give Boston an obviously younger option with the potential of more range and better arm strength. Such a flip would serve as a much-needed attempt to not only improve their defense, but take a step in the direction of righting what has quickly become a sinking ship and could only get worse if the defense continues to falter. View full article

Heading into the 2026 season, one could argue that the center field position for the Boston Red Sox is toward, if not at the top, of the list of positions the team and fans should have the fewest amount of questions about. Finally a Gold Glove winner after a phenomenal defensive campaign in 2025, Ceddanne Rafaela looks to not only repeat the success that earned him his well-deserved hardware, but also find some more consistency at the plate. Red Sox Centerfield At A Glance Starter: Ceddanne Rafaela Backup: Jarren Duran Depth: Nate Eaton, Kristian Campbell, Braiden Ward Red Sox fWAR Ranking Last Year: 13th out of 30 Red Sox fWAR Projection This Year: 8th out of 30 The Good It’s no secret the Red Sox’s outfield has been, and will continue to be, under the microscope as the season gets underway and Alex Cora tries to figure out how he’ll position the likes of Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Masataka Yoshida, and his reigning Gold Glove winners Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela across the outfield and at designated hitter. Perhaps no more than just two seasons ago, the light-hitting and overly aggressive Rafaela, who owned a 2.6 BB% and 46.4 Chase% in 2024, both of which were in the 1st percentile league-wide, may have found himself heading for a platoon/super-utility role if Cora had found himself in a similar predicament heading into the 2025 campaign. As we turn the page to 2026 however, there is no doubt in Cora’s mind or anyone else's in the Red Sox organization that anyone other than Rafaela should be their man in center. It may seem like an impossible task, but Rafaela will look to build off a phenomenal defensive season a year ago, one that saw him lead all American League centerfielders in Outs Above Average (21), which he would have led all of baseball in if it wasn’t for the Cubs young phenom Pete Crow-Armstrong. And if the World Baseball Classic and Spring Training has been anything to show for, including recently this past week in games against the Twins and Braves, Rafaela is picking up in his defensive prowess right where he left off a season ago. With Rafaela however, defense is never going to be lacking. His questions have always stemmed from his bat, and more specifically the inability to work counts and lay off pitches. The 2025 season saw Rafaela not only improve on those numbers, getting his BB% to 4.8 and Chase% to 42.2, but also drastically decreasing his K% from 26.4% (22nd percentile) in 2024 to 19.9, good to place himself in the 56th percentile. Red Sox fans also had the pleasure (and maybe displeasure, as we’ll get to in a moment) of finding out throughout last season that when Ceddanne gets hot, he gets REALLY hot. Those who follow the team will surely remember his stretch in June and July where he made NESN’s Jonathan Papelbon’s prediction of an MVP candidacy in Rafaela’s future not seem so farfetched, accumulating a .284/.312/.547/.859 slash line with 11 HRs and 29 RBIs across 49 games and 189 plate appearances. No moment was more impressive than his thunderous walk-off home run prior to the All-Star break off then Rays closer Pete Fairbanks, to which NESN’s Dave O’Brien appropriately described as “Rafaela killed it.” The Bad Unfortunately for Rafaela, the baseball season doesn’t just take place in just June and July, and for just as hot as he was in those two months, he was just as cold in April, March, and August. Those three months saw Rafaela finish with a line of just .210/.272/.318/.590 with 3 HRs and 22 RBI in 56 games and 213 plate appearances. Take it a step further and look at Rafaela’s first and second half splits, where he slashed .271/.314/.483/.796 in the first 92 games and .218/.268/.319/.587 in the final 64 of the regular season, and you’ll see the inconsistencies can still rear their ugly head for the 25-year-old. And while it was important to shed light on Rafaela’s improvements from 2024 to 2025 in terms of much-needed plate discipline, his numbers there still aren’t anything to write home about. That previously mentioned 4.8 BB% and 42.2 Chase% still only puts him in the seventh and second percentiles, respectively. While his defense will continue to be his calling card and almost certainly be what should have him in the lineup on a nightly basis, you can’t help but wonder what another cold streak would mean for his playing time given the logjam still clogging up the depth chart. The Bottom Line It is worth briefly touching on the possibility that could be on the table if Alex Cora wants to get completely crazy and keep Rafaela in the lineup while not having to sit anyone. When Jarren Duran was putting together his MVP-caliber season back in 2024, he manned the position 105 out of the 160 games he played that year, to the tune of a career-best 8.7 WAR. The reason for his abundance of play there was Trevor Story’s early season shoulder injury that saw Rafaela move into the infield and help stabilize the shortstop position, where he played 82 of his 152 games that season. While you could argue there is a slight chance of that happening, as Rafaela did appear at second base 24 times last year, one would think an absolute doomsday scenario of injuries combined with massive underperformances would have to occur for Cora to go back on his word when he met with the media early in Spring Training and said it would be unlikely that Rafaela played second base this season. We will obviously have our answers on how the Red Sox outfield situation will shape up once the first pitch is thrown in Cincinnati on March 26, but it doesn’t feel too outlandish to say the Red Sox’s most effective lineup will be the one that features the reigning Gold Glove winner staying put in center field and looking to build off a strong 2025 campaign. View full article