Mac Cerullo: Great! Even better than last year, actually. It took a while to get there but this wound up being an extremely active and consequential offseason. We\u2019ll obviously see how it looks on the field, but by and large, Craig Breslow addressed most of the club\u2019s needs and assembled a group that could realistically compete for a championship.<\/p>\n
GS: Wow, even better than last year? I\u2019m pretty optimistic, but cautiously so, which sounds underwhelming compared to your estimation, but I\u2019m not entirely sure what to make of this team just yet, primarily because so many of the everyday players missed a significant chunk of the Grapefruit League schedule for the WBC. However, I also remember how much last year\u2019s signing of Alex Bregman heightened our expectations and excitement for the season. And while the moves Breslow made this offseason should strengthen the roster, the avoidable loss of Bregman in free agency, and questions about the offense, particularly whether or not these players can hit enough home runs, are putting me in a maybe, hopefully, but let\u2019s wait and see frame of mind.<\/p>\n
![\"Ranger](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SOXsc-010.jpg\")
Ranger Suarez speaks as the Red Sox introduce pitcher Ranger Su\u00e1rez. (Staff photo by Stuart Cahill\/Media News Group)
\nDid Red Sox have a successful offseason?<\/p>\n
MC: I see where you\u2019re coming from, but big-picture and in ways that may not be totally obvious, I think the Red Sox are much better than they were last year. Let\u2019s start with the rotation. Last year the Red Sox won 89 games even though they basically had just three reliable starters the entire season. Now with Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Johan Oviedo on board, Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello returning, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle waiting in the wings and Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval nearing a return as well, the club should have more quality starting pitching than just about anyone. Defensively the infield should be much improved, which has been a huge factor in the club\u2019s struggles dating back years, and I really liked what I\u2019ve seen from Willson Contreras offensively this spring. They may not lead the league in homers, but I think the Red Sox will score plenty of runs.<\/p>\n
GS: I agree that it\u2019s a stronger roster than last year, particularly on the pitching side. I don\u2019t know if the Red Sox ever had this much pitching depth before, and rarely, if ever, is their rotation projected to be one of, if not the best in the game. It\u2019s very promising, and speaks to how much Breslow transformed the roster and pitching development in less than three years at the helm. But I think the addition I\u2019m most intrigued by is Caleb Durbin, who is having an excellent spring training and was officially named the new starting third baseman late last week. I don\u2019t know if there will ever be another Red Sox infielder quite like his hero, Dustin Pedroia, but I think Durbin will really impress this season.<\/p>\n
MC: Durbin wasn\u2019t really on many people\u2019s radar, and to be honest I\u2019m still surprised the Brewers decided to trade him, but he\u2019s exactly what this team needed. Great defense, versatile and a quality bat with lots of room to grow.<\/p>\n
GS: Bat power generally gives me pause. Since the end-of-season press conference last October, team officials spoke of the importance of home-run hitters and claimed it was a top priority. I disagree with FanGraphs\u2019 ZiPS projection that no one on this roster will hit 20 homers, but did the Red Sox do enough to address this self-stated need? By several metrics, Contreras\u2019 bat is a 1:1 replacement for Bregman\u2019s. Before Roman Anthony left for the WBC, he told me he felt like he was just \u201cunlocking\u201d his power before last year\u2019s season-ending oblique strain. But he\u2019s also aware that, as he says, \u201ceveryone expects me to hit.\u201d That\u2019s a lot of pressure on a 21-year-old who\u2019s played 71 career games in the majors.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also the related question of the group\u2019s ability to hit left-handed pitching. Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez were instrumental to the team\u2019s success last season because they were elite against lefties. The Red Sox lost Refsnyder, or the \u201cSouthpaw Slayer,\u201d as I call him, to free agency, and Gonzalez is out for at least two months after last week\u2019s shoulder procedure. Cora is going to have some of the younger guys face more lefties, which, though crucial learning experience, isn\u2019t necessarily going to replace the production they\u2019ve lost.<\/p>\n
MC: Well, if the way Anthony, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu are hitting this spring is any indication, the Red Sox might manage just fine.<\/p>\n
![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP25298130332492.jpg\")
Toronto Blue Jays players celebrate after Game 1 of baseball’s World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Toronto. (AP Photo\/David J. Phillip)
\nWho will win AL East?<\/p>\n
GS: As always we have to revisit some of the previous year\u2019s predictions. \u201cReally, the only question is what Bregman\u2019s arrival means for Rafael Devers,\u201d is a line that makes me laugh now, because I don\u2019t think anyone could\u2019ve foreseen how much wilder that saga would get, or that Devers would be traded less than three months later.<\/p>\n
MC: Well, what\u2019s done is done. I can\u2019t imagine we\u2019ll see anything quite as dramatic as the Devers trade this season. Props to you for calling the Blue Jays though. You had them taking a step forward, meanwhile I thought they\u2019d crash and basically have the season the Orioles had. I won\u2019t be making that same mistake again though. Give me the Blue Jays to repeat as AL East champs, followed closely by the Red Sox as the top wild-card team. I expect the Yankees and Orioles will both be in the wild-card picture too, and the Rays, well, at least Junior Caminero is fun.<\/p>\n
GS: Now that you\u2019ve said that, dramatics are guaranteed. I was wrong about the Red Sox, though. I said 90-plus wins (and guesstimated 93) and a first-place finish. They went 89-73, finished second in the division behind the tied Jays and Yankees, and were the second AL Wild Card.<\/p>\n
I will pat myself on the back for being one of the only people who didn\u2019t underestimate the 2025 Blue Jays. But much like the 2019 Red Sox, I think the Blue Jays might be tired coming off a long October run. A significantly more taxing one, too; the 2018 Red Sox only lost one game per postseason round, while the 2025 ALCS and World Series both went the full seven games, including multiple extra-inning battles. I think the Orioles will definitely bounce-back after a weird 2025, especially with Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward in the lineup. The Rays were buyers and sellers this offseason, but somehow they\u2019re always good enough to at least cause trouble, and I think they\u2019ll get a boost from being back home at a freshly-repaired Tropicana Field, after spending last season playing outdoors at the Yankees\u2019 spring training complex.<\/p>\n
The Yankees had a weird offseason, slow and quiet, with the exception of Cody Bellinger re-signing for five years, $162.5 million. I\u2019m not really sure what to make of them running back almost the same roster as last year. In the 90s, the Yankees running it back with the same players was a recipe for success. I\u2019m not sure that\u2019s the case anymore, even with Gerrit Cole expected back from Tommy John surgery at some point in late May or early June.<\/p>\n
MC: It\u2019ll certainly be a gauntlet for everybody. When the dust settles, put me down for a 93-69 season for the Red Sox. How about you?<\/p>\n
GS: 92-70 and tied with the Orioles for first.<\/p>\n
Red October redo<\/p>\n
GS: In last year\u2019s predictions we agreed that if the Red Sox didn\u2019t make the playoffs something would have gone \u201chorribly wrong\u201d and \u201cthe season should be considered a massive disappointment.\u201d The Red Sox proved us right by punching their ticket for the first time since 2021, and then getting booted out by the Yankees in the first round.<\/p>\n
MC: That was a necessary step that the organization needed to take, but now it\u2019s time for the Red Sox to take the next one. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s quite \u201cAL East champions\/AL pennant or bust\u201d\u00a0\u2014 I think the Blue Jays deserve to be considered the favorite for both out of the gate \u2014 but the Red Sox are good enough where they should make a deep run.<\/p>\n
GS: If the Red Sox don\u2019t take at minimum one step forward, something will have gone horribly wrong.<\/p>\n
![\"Boston](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP25137049044451.jpg\")
Boston Red Sox pitcher Garrett Crochet reacts after striking out Atlanta Braves’ Stuart Fairchild, to leave the bases loaded in a game last season. (AP Photo\/Mark Stockwell)
\nHardball hardware<\/p>\n
GS: I picked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to win AL MVP last season and it went to Aaron Judge, but I was right that Shohei Ohtani would win NL MVP. Garrett Whitlock may not have won Comeback Player of the Year, but he had an excellent comeback season nonetheless.<\/p>\n
We were spot-on predicting the 2025 AL Cy Young would come down to Crochet and Tarik Skubal. Skubal won his second in a row, but Crochet was a formidable runner-up, leading the AL with 205 1\/3 innings pitched and the majors with 255 strikeouts. Who are you picking for awards in 2026?<\/p>\n
MC: I think the AL Cy Young is a toss-up between Skubal and Crochet again, but given how many millions Skubal has on the line I have a hard time betting against him. Paul Skenes might have the NL Cy Young locked down for as long as he stays healthy, and I don\u2019t see any point in picking against Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani for MVP until one of them takes a clear step back. Rookie of the Year is interesting though. Konnor Griffin will immediately become a top contender the moment the Pirates call his number, and either Kazuma Okamoto or Trey Yesavage could bring it home for Toronto.<\/p>\n
GS: Agreed. Skubal is definitely going to be pitching with some added fuel after that arbitration with the Tigers, and Griffin\u2019s performance against the Red Sox early in spring training certainly put me on notice. Likewise for Yesavage in last year\u2019s postseason. I don\u2019t see how anyone could beat Ohtani, especially since he\u2019s planning on pitching more this year. I\u2019m going to go bold for AL, though, and pick Roman Anthony. I think he\u2019s just scratched the surface of what he can do.<\/p>\n
MC: I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m quite there, but I think Anthony could be on the verge of something special. If he makes the leap and becomes a true blue superstar, then the sky is the limit for this team.<\/p>\n
Last thoughts<\/p>\n
GS: Let\u2019s end this year\u2019s edition with something new: one random or niche prediction per person.<\/p>\n
MC: Braiden Ward, this year\u2019s spring training hero, will eventually earn a call-up to the big league roster and will come up with a huge stolen base in a key game either down the stretch or in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
GS: 2018 Tony Renda-style, I like it. Mine is that Wilyer Abreu will go full 1999 Nomar Garciaparra and hit multiple grand slams in a single game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On Thursday, the Boston Red Sox open their 2026 season. But first, predictions. After ending a three-year stretch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,5156,591,85],"class_list":["post-556728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}