The Red Sox may be in a better spot than they were a year ago, but the clean-up work is far from done.
Getting knocked out in the wild-card round by their biggest rival for the second straight season made that plain. Boston has a few areas to tighten up this winter, and the first order of business is obvious: add more power.
That was the club’s biggest need last year, and it still sits near the top of the list heading into 2027. The Red Sox finished the 2026 regular season 26th in the league with 163 home runs, and that shortage showed up again in October.
The Yankees were second in the league with 223 homers in the regular season, then launched four more in the two-game wild-card series. That kind of pop matters, and it matters even more when the games get tight.
There is an injury argument to be made here, of course. Trevor Story hit just five homers in 64 games.
Roman Anthony managed five in 55 games. Curtis Mead belted 17 for the Washington Nationals but appeared in only one game for Boston.
Adley Rutschman, too, clearly wasn’t fully right when he came off the Injured List; he finished with five homers in 32 games for the Red Sox, and four of those came in September. Health would have changed the look of the offense.
The question is how often Boston can count on that being the answer.
Rutschman, though, gives the club something it can feel good about behind the plate. Catcher is no longer a need, and the Red Sox should push hard to lock him up with an extension.
Even when the bat was slow to come around after the trade deadline, what he brought defensively was special. Then came a strong September: .266/.299/.547 with an .845 OPS, four homers and nine RBIs in 17 games.
That kind of finish should have the fanbase excited and the front office willing to spend.
On the mound, Sonny Gray is a major decision point. His mutual option is unlikely to be picked up, which raises the obvious question of whether Boston can keep him beyond the 2026 season.
It would make sense to do so. If the club needs to look outside, Shane Bieber is a name to watch; he’s been on Boston’s radar multiple times already.
There are internal arms in the mix as well. Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are part of that conversation. The left-handed side of the rotation is already crowded with Garrett Crochet, Payton Tolle, Ranger Suarez and Jake Bennett, but the Red Sox can’t simply run out a staff of lefties and call it a day.
The outfield deserves a hard look, too. Boston has to decide whether to keep rolling with Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu.
Duran went through the toughest season of his career in 2026, while Anthony was hit hard by injuries in both 2025 and 2026. The health piece matters here, especially with Boston losing an outfielder for three months and delaying the decision-making process.
With Masataka Yoshida also in the picture, the time to settle on a plan is now. It has been a few years. The Red Sox need to rip the Band-Aid off, make a choice and stick with it.
In Other News...
Willson Contreras Just Sparked A New Red Sox Debate
After the Red Sox dropped Game 2 of the AL Wild Card series, catcher Willson Contreras offered a blunt critique of the way the team has been managed in big moments. His frustration centered on Boston's heavy reliance on data and analytics, a philosophy that has shaped plenty of decisions but also left room for questions when the margin gets tight and the postseason pressure rises.
Contreras pushed the idea that experience and veteran leadership still matter just as much as the numbers, especially in a series like this one against the Yankees. For a Red Sox team already trying to sort through the disappointment of the loss, his comments add another layer to the conversation about how much trust should be placed in the process when the stakes are highest. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Season Ended In The Worst Way Against The Yankees
The Red Sox season came to a halt in the most familiar kind of October pain, two losses to the Yankees in the Wild Card series ending Bostons postseason before it had a chance to build any momentum. For a club that spent the year trying to put itself in position for a deeper run, the short stay in the bracket made the disappointment immediate and hard to soften, even as manager Chad Tracy spoke openly about how much the defeat stung.
Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet both were dealing with injuries during the series, adding another layer of frustration to a matchup that already carried plenty of history. With the Yankees moving on to the American League Division Series, the Red Sox are left to sort through not just the final score of their season, but the feeling that their October ended in the worst possible way. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Gray Just Made Bostons Offseason A Lot More Complicated
Sonny Grays first October cameo with the Red Sox gave Boston plenty to weigh going forward, even before the offseason conversations really begin. He worked 4.2 innings in the Wild Card series against the Yankees, allowed two runs and struck out five, then came out early at the decision of manager Chad Tracy.
After the series, Gray did not sound like someone assuming he would be back in Boston next season. The veteran right-hander said he was disappointed by the early removal and signaled uncertainty about returning, even after a season in which he posted a 2.72 ERA and led the league with 18 wins. For a team that just got a close-up look at what he can still provide, the question now is whether it gets another one. [Read more 🡒]