Bleacher Report is betting on a change at the top of the AL East before the 2026 season runs out.
In its latest set of bold predictions for the final two months of the year, the outlet said the Red Sox will finish ahead of the Yankees - even though New York enters Wednesday with a three-game edge in the standings. The Yankees are 67-52 and in second place in the division, while Boston sits at 64-55 in third after a four-game losing streak.
That call lands as bold for a reason. The Yankees have been the steadier club over the full season, but Bleacher Report sees the possibility of the two teams moving in opposite directions down the stretch.
Boston’s recent slump has cooled off a stretch that looked like one of the season’s best turnaround stories. The Red Sox were 14 games under .500 before ripping off a six-week surge that flipped their season. They won 32 of 40, surged into the playoff conversation and got within reach of New York.
And it wasn’t just a fluky heater at the plate. During that run, Boston outscored opponents by an average of 2.3 runs per game, with pitching and lineup depth both carrying their weight. The Red Sox looked like a legitimate balanced team, not a group living on borrowed time.
That momentum has hit a wall lately. Boston dropped its series finale against the Athletics, then lost three straight to the Blue Jays. In all four defeats, the Red Sox scored three runs or fewer, after putting up 25 runs over the two games right before the slide.
Even with that skid, Bleacher Report is still leaning into Boston’s upside. The Yankees, meanwhile, have spent a long stretch treading water. Over their last 80 games, they’ve gone 40-40, and that run lines up with Aaron Judge’s rib injury, which has taken the lineup’s most dangerous bat out of action.
Judge has made progress, but the rib is still healing. There’s no guarantee he looks like himself right away once he’s back, and New York has already spent too long around .500 to feel secure.
Boston, though, is also waiting on help. Roman Anthony has advanced to hitting against a high-velocity Trajekt machine as he works back from a partially torn tendon in his right ring finger. Trevor Story is still out with a sports hernia, and Garrett Crochet could also return to the pitching staff at some point.
The Red Sox got one reinforcement Tuesday when Adley Rutschman debuted and reached base three times after returning from left wrist inflammation. Bleacher Report also pointed to top shortstop prospect Franklin Arias as a possible September addition. Arias was ranked the No. 4 prospect in baseball by B/R’s Joel Reuter.
For now, the prediction is just that - a prediction. Boston still has to stop the slide and prove it can hold up the momentum it built over that six-week surge. New York has the current edge in the standings and the loss column, and the Yankees have spent the season above .500.
But the Red Sox already erased a much bigger hole once this year.
If they can do it again against the team sitting in front of them, Bleacher Report’s bold take won’t look quite so bold anymore.
In Other News...
Former Red Sox Fan Favorite Is Walking Away From Baseball
Rob Refsnyders name still carries a little extra weight in Boston, where his career got a second life and he became one of those players fans seemed to appreciate for how he fit into the room as much as what he did on the field. After bouncing through several organizations, he found real footing with the Red Sox during a revival that helped turn him from a journeyman into a familiar and well-liked presence for the club.
Now, according to reports, the former outfielder has stepped away from professional baseball altogether. Refsnyders path included parts of 11 major league seasons and a late-career stop with the Mariners, and he leaves behind a modest but respectable big league rsum with a .246 average, 37 home runs and 165 RBIs. For Red Sox fans, though, he will likely be remembered less for the final numbers than for the run that made him feel like one of their own. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Just Pushed Out A Productive Outfielder For A Bigger Reason
Roster churn at the Double-A level can look routine from the outside, but it often says more about an organizations direction than any box score does. The Red Sox parted ways with outfielder Matt Fraizer, a former Pirates third-round pick who had joined the system on a minor-league deal last winter and had spent his time with Portland, where he was one of the more established outfield options on hand.
Fraizers exit appears to fit the kind of roster management that happens when a club wants to open space for younger talent moving up behind him. In Bostons case, the move helps clear room for other outfielders and comes as Henry Godbout gets a promotion within the organization, a reminder that even productive minor-league pieces can become expendable when the pipeline starts to move. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Prospects Are Giving Boston A Depth Boost Fans Will Notice
Bostons farm system has been doing more than just filling box scores lately. Across different levels, several Red Sox prospects have started to show the kind of steady production that can make a rebuilding pipeline feel a little more real, with Mikey Romero, Franklin Arias, Allan Castro and Gage Ziehl among the names drawing attention for recent game-to-game impact. The updates have come from all over the system, which is part of what makes the stretch notable for the organization: it is not just one hot hand, but a collection of players giving the club reason to keep watching closely.
There was also a familiar big-league name in Worcester for a rehab assignment debut, though it sits outside the actual prospect conversation. Even so, the broader minor league picture is the one Boston has to like right now, because depth only matters if it is producing in more than one place at once. For a team that always has one eye on the next wave, these are the kinds of performances that can change the tone of a farm system, even before any of them force a bigger conversation. [Read more 🡒]