The Red Sox’s latest playoff exit has put an uncomfortable truth back in the spotlight: Boston has spent the last five seasons watching the rest of the American League East keep moving while it gets left behind.
This year’s short postseason run only sharpened that picture. If you’re trying to claim contender status, it’s hard to do that when your own division is producing the teams that keep pushing deeper into October. The current American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays is the clearest reminder yet that the Red Sox are being outpaced in their own neighborhood.
The more embarrassing part for Boston is that this isn’t just about one season. Since the Red Sox last made a deep run of their own in 2021, at least two AL East teams have advanced farther in every single season. That kind of steady division-wide success has turned Boston into something of an afterthought.
Here’s how that stretch has looked:
2022: Red Sox finish last in AL East; Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays make postseason
2023: Red Sox finish last in AL East; Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays make postseason
2024: Red Sox finish third in AL East; Yankees, Orioles make postseason
2025: Red Sox lose in wild-card round; Yankees, Blue Jays advance to ALDS
2026: Red Sox lose in wild-card round; Yankees, Rays advance to ALDS
For Boston, that’s the kind of pattern that stings. A season can feel respectable in isolation, but it looks a lot different when two division rivals are still playing while you’re already done. It can make the Red Sox feel like the opening act instead of the main event.
And with the Yankees and Rays putting together what looks like a strong series this week, the pressure on Boston’s front office only grows. The offseason won’t be simple, especially with a lockout looming, but the message is obvious: some major changes are needed if the Red Sox want to look like a real contender the next time they take the field.
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Red Sox Still Have One Unsettled Infield Situation Heading Into 2027
Bostons end-of-season health check brought some clarity on a few important names, even if the bigger roster picture still has some unfinished business heading toward spring. Caleb Durbins pinkie issue remains without a clear diagnosis, and surgery is still on the table, while Garrett Crochet said he is fully healthy as he heads into the offseason after a careful recovery from a shoulder injury.
Curtis Mead, meanwhile, has been medically cleared and is in the mix for the starting second-base job when camp opens. For the Red Sox, that keeps one of the infields most watched questions in play heading into 2027, with Meads role still waiting to be defined even as the medical side of the conversation has started to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Gray Drama Could Change How Red Sox Fans View Him
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MLB did investigate Gray over possible use of illegal substances, but he passed all in-game checks and was never officially disciplined. The leagues review ended without formal action, and nothing in his behavior or performance pointed to cheating, even if the speculation around him was loud enough to color how some fans remember the night. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Still Have One Roster Flaw They Can't Keep Ignoring
The Red Sox are heading into the offseason with a roster issue that has lingered long enough to shape how they approach everything else: they need more right-handed power. Recent trades have already been aimed at easing that problem, but the front office does not appear close to being done, especially with a winter ahead that could still reshape both the lineup and the organizational depth chart.
Andrew Goodman, Jarren Duran and prospects such as Franklin Arias are all part of the broader conversation as Boston weighs how aggressive it wants to be. Positional changes could also enter the mix, and there are at least some buy-low trade ideas floating around, including names like Adolis Garca and Juan Soto, which shows how wide the field could get before the Red Sox settle on a real answer to the imbalance in their lineup. [Read more 🡒]