Steve Drumwright

While the Boston Red Sox would rather be focused on preparations for the World Series, they are already making moves to get ready for the 2027 season. The Red Sox have signed catcher Riley Adams to a minor-league contract, according to multiple reports. Adams, 30, is a depth move for the Red Sox, who currently have Adley Rutschman as the starter and Connor Wong as the backup at the major-league level. Adams had been with the Washington Nationals since the 2021 trade deadline when he came over from the Toronto Blue Jays. But Adams, for the first time since that 2021 season, did not play in the majors this season. Instead, he was stuck at Triple-A, where he put up a .273/.389/.506 slash line with 16 homers and 50 RBIs in 82 games. He had been taken off the 40-man roster in January and outrighted to the minors, then became a free agent following the end of the regular season. Players on minor-league contracts and not on the 40-man roster are not affected by the lockout. Adams fits that category. View full rumor

Now that he has the full-time job, Boston Red Sox manager Chad Tracy is tweaking what will be his first MLB coaching staff. Well, sorta his. After robbing a couple of minor-league affiliates of coaching personnel when Alex Cora was fired April 25, a few of those individuals are heading back to the minors. Chad Epperson, who became the Red Sox's third base coach, will become the Triple-A manager, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. Epperson had been the manager at Double-A Portland when the MLB staff changes happened. Tracy had been Worcester's skipper before taking over for Cora and then being named the full-time manager at the end of the regular season. Also, interim first base coach Pablo Cabrera will return to his role of minor-league defensive coordinator. The remainder of the coaching staff is expected to remain in their current roles. Tracy reportedly has been told that he will not be able to hire any big names to his staff due to what the Red Sox are paying everyone who was fired. View full rumor

With the sidelining of one key player, another that held hopes to make a big impact is finally coming to fruition. Infielder Curtis Mead, who was injured in his first game after being acquired via trade, was added to the Boston Red Sox's roster prior to Wednesday's Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series vs. the New York Yankees. The Red Sox trail the best-of-three series 1-0 and face elimination in Game 2. Mead replaced injured outfielder Roman Anthony on the roster. Mead was hit on his left wrist in his second plate appearance in a Red Sox uniform, sustained a nondisplaced fracture in the July 26 game against the A's. Mead did not have surgery, giving him a chance to return this year. That opportunity arose with Anthony's injury in Game 1. Mead was acquired from the Washington Nationals in exchange for pitcher Connelly Early on July 27. Mead has been staying in hitting condition by hitting off a machine. He was not in the lineup for Game 2, but could come off the bench as a pinch-hitter. He had been picked up to play either third or second base. Mead was in the midst of a career year, posting a slash line of .253/.353/.498 with 17 homers and 48 RBIs in 88 games. Before this year, Mead had five homers in 152 career games over three seasons between the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox. View full rumor

As the Boston Red Sox face elimination, they have suffered a setback with one of their better hitters. Outfielder Roman Anthony is being removed from the roster due to injury prior to Wednesday's Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the rival New York Yankees. Anthony would be ineligible to play in the AL Division Series should the Red Sox advance. The Red Sox lost Game 1 on Tuesday 9-0. Infielder Curtis Mead, out since sustaining a nondisplaced fracture of his left wrist in his Red Sox debut following a trade, replaced Anthony on the roster. Anthony aggravated his right hand and wrist injury that sidelined him a good chunk of the season. Serving as the designated hitter and batting leadoff, Anthony was removed when his spot came up in the top of the sixth inning. Andruw Monasterio replaced him. Anthony had struck out swinging in the first and third innings. Manager Chad Tracy said Anthony felt something on check swings in each of his first two at-bats. According to Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, Anthony sustained "new strains to different muscles," which was revealed after he was driven from New York to Boston after Tuesday's game to get new imaging. Anthony was on his way back to rejoin the team Wednesday. The previous injury was also aggravated. Another Globe reporter, Alex Speier, quoted as saying there is "more" damage than previous imaging had revealed. Jahmai Jones was in the leadoff spot as the DH for Game 2, with Nate Eaton playing right field and batting ninth. View full rumor

The big storm hitting the northeast has caused MLB to make another change to the weekend schedule, this one being the most dramatic. After rescheduling Sunday's game to part of a Friday doubleheader, MLB announced after Game 1 of that twinbill that Saturday's final game of the series, pending the completion of Friday's doubleheader, will be played at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. All of the games that day will start at 3:05 p.m. While the Red Sox have secured the AL's second wild card and thus the No. 5 seed, the Cubs' position in the postseason is still not clear. After losing the opener Friday 4-3, the Cubs are 1½ games behind the San Diego Padres for the top NL wild card. The Cubs, who already clinched a playoff spot, are also just a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies, who host the Rays in a three-game series. The Padres, who clinched Thursday, are hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks in their final regular-season series. The Phillies lead the D'backs by two games for the final berth in the NL playoff field. View full rumor

With the Chicago Cubs still battling for a better seed in the NL wild-card chase and a severe storm hitting New England this weekend, MLB has altered the schedule for the three games being hosted by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Sunday's game was moved to Friday, creating a split doubleheader on the first day of the scheduled three-game series. The first game will be played at 1:05 p.m. ET, with the second at the originally scheduled 6:05 p.m. ET. The first game will be the rescheduled game from Sunday for ticketing purposes. Saturday's game will be at 7:15 p.m. ET, although that time could be moved up depending on the forecast. While the Red Sox have their postseason invite locked up and are fairly set as the No. 2 wild card (No. 5 overall seed) in the AL, the Cubs could finish anywhere from the No. 1 wild card to the No. 3 entering the final five games of the regular season. The Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres are tied going into Wednesday's action at 87-70. The Cubs hold the tiebreaker over the Phillies and the Padres and the Phillies have the tiebreaker over the Padres. There will be no game on Sunday unless one of the games Friday or Saturday are postponed. Sunday is expected to be the worst of the days of the storm. It is also possible that a game will be played Monday if needed. The postseason begins Tuesday with all four Wild Card Series. View full rumor

The Boston Red Sox have one of their biggest bats back for the final two weeks of the season. First baseman Willson Contreras was activated from the 10-day injured list Sunday by the Red Sox, who placed infielder Anthony Seigler on the 10-day IL with inflammation in his right wrist. The Red Sox face the Kansas City Royals in the finale of a three-game series. The Red Sox appear destined to enter the postseason as the AL's No. 2 wild card (No. 5 seed). They trail the New York Yankees, who hold the No. 1 wild-card spot, by 4½ games and have a four-game advantage over the Cleveland Guardians, currently the No. 3 wild card. Contreras is back following a strained left hamstring that landed him on the IL on Aug. 31. Contreras is in the midst of a career year with a .274/.384/.516 slash line with 26 homers and 79 RBIs. Seigler was injured in Saturday's 5-1 victory over the Royals. He has a .247/.327/.400 slash line in 49 games, having just come up a few days prior from Triple-A Worcester. View full rumor