The Red Sox are weighing a postseason wrinkle that could bring pure speed into the picture if they get to October.
With Boston staring at what looks like a second straight finish in the American League Wild Card runner-up spot and little room left to chase down the New York Yankees, the focus has shifted to roster construction. All signs point to the Red Sox heading to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series, and one possible card on the table is Braiden Ward.
According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, interim manager Chad Tracy said on WEEI’s “Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson” on Wednesday that the Red Sox would consider carrying Ward, who has stolen 60 bases in Worcester this season. Cotillo added that, per a major league source, it is “a real consideration” for Boston as the club appears likely to meet the Yankees in a best-of-three Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium in two weeks.
Ward is 27 and has not made his Major League debut yet, which makes the possibility especially unusual. Only six players in MLB history have debuted in the postseason, and Ward could become the seventh if Boston goes that route.
Tracy pointed to Ward’s running ability when asked about his chances of making the roster.
“It’s just hard to say, other than to say he has stolen 60 bases,” Tracy told Cotillo about Ward's chances of cracking the roster.
“It’s very obvious you have a guy down there that has a really good ability to run and steal bases. We’ll see how how we get at the end of the season and how all that fits.”
Ward’s speed could give the Red Sox a different kind of weapon off the bench, but for now the club has not locked in a decision either way.
In Other News...
Yankees Let A Sweep Slip Away As Bigger Concern Emerges
The Yankees had a chance to finish off a sweep in Minnesota and instead spent a long, frustrating night watching the game slip past them in 13 innings, 5-4. The offense did enough to create opportunities, but the strikeouts piled up and the missed chances kept growing, none bigger than the bases-loaded, no-outs spot in the 12th inning that produced nothing.
More troubling than the blown chance to sweep was the sight of Aaron Judge leaving in the sixth inning because of tightness in his lower right leg. Clarke Schmidt was back on the mound after elbow surgery, which gave the Yankees a needed rotation boost, but the postgame mood was shaped less by the return and more by what could be ahead if Judges discomfort lingers. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Prospect Carlos Lagrange Just Reopened An Intriguing Pitching Question
Carlos Lagrange is back on the mound for the Yankees Triple-A club, and the first look was hard to ignore. After being sidelined since late June with a right shoulder capsular sprain, the pitching prospect returned with one scoreless inning for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and the radar gun offered the kind of reminder that keeps evaluators interested. His fastball averaged 100.3 mph, a number that helps explain why the organization has been willing to be patient with a young arm still sorting out the bigger picture.
Lagranges season has been uneven overall, with a 4.48 ERA across 19 Triple-A games, but the Yankees are clearly treating this as more about health and continued reps than immediate results. Hes expected to make a few more appearances before the focus shifts toward 2027, which makes his next outings worth tracking closely. The stuff has always been part of the appeal, and now the question is how quickly he can turn that raw velocity into something more reliable as he works back into form. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Fans May Be Reaching A Breaking Point With Ryan McMahon
Ryan McMahon has given the Yankees something they needed when they brought him in at the 2025 trade deadline: stability at third base and a glove that has held up over a full season in pinstripes. The problem is that the bat has never really followed, and the gap between what New York hoped for and what it has gotten has only grown louder as the season wore on.
McMahon has played every game since the deal, but his offense has remained well below league average, with a .210/.275/.346 line, 10 home runs and 34 RBIs. A wRC+ of 80 does not just put him in an uncomfortable spot for a regular, it leaves him trailing several other Yankees hitters, which is why the conversation around him has shifted from patience to whether the club may eventually have to make a tougher roster decision. [Read more 🡒]