BOSTON RED SOX
2025 finish: 89-73 (3rd place in AL East, lost in AL Wild Card Series)
Manager: Alex Cora (610-524, 8th season)
Leading the front office: Craig Breslow, chief baseball officer (3rd season)
DOLLARS AND SENSE
Largest luxury tax hit: RHP Sonny Gray ($41 million)
Top returning players: OF Jarren Duran (3.9 fWAR), OF Ceddanne Rafaela (3.8), SS Trevor Story (3.0)
Top returning starting pitchers: LHP Garrett Crochet (5.8), RHP Bryan Bello (1.9), LHP Connelly Early (1.1)
Top returning relievers: LHP Aroldis Chapman (2.6), RHP Garrett Whitlock (2.2), RHP Greg Weissert (0.7)
ROSTER WATCH
Key additions: LHP Ranger Suarez (free agent), RHP Sonny Gray (trade), RHP Johan Oviedo (trade), 1B Willson Contreras (trade), 3B Caleb Durbin (trade), INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa (free agent), RHP Ryan Watson (trade), RHP Kyle Keller (minors), 2B Brendan Rodgers (minors), INF Anthony Siegler (trade), SS Andruw Monasterio (trade), SS Tsung-Che Cheng (waivers), RHP Seth Martinez (minors), RHP Tayron Guerrero (minors)
Key losses: 3B Alex Bregman (free agent), RHP Lucas Giolito (free agent), LHP Steven Matz (free agent), LHP Kyle Harrison (trade), INF David Hamilton (trade), RHP Dustin May (free agent), RHP Liam Hendriks (free agent), 1B Nathaniel Lowe (free agent), LHP Justin Wilson (free agent), RHP Josh Winckowski (free agent), LHP Brennan Bernardino (trade), RHP Richard Fitts (trade), 2B Vaughn Grissom (trade)
Baseball America top-100 prospect(s): LHP Payton Tolle (17), SS Franklin Arias (49), LHP Connelly Early (52), RHP Kyson Witherspoon (69)
Boston Red Sox Ceddanne Rafaela celebrates is two run home run with Roman Anthony in the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in North Port, Fla., Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
KEEP AN EYE ON
LHP Garrett Crochet, 26, finished second in AL Cy Young voting in his first full, unrestricted year as a starter, striking out an MLB-best 255 batters over 205⅓ innings (2.59 ERA). RHP Brayan Bello posted a career-low 3.35 ERA in his fourth year in the Red Sox rotation. With LHP Ranger Suarez (3.20 ERA) signing as a free agent and RHP Sonny Gray (4.28 ERA) coming over in a trade, the rotation looks to be a strength, especially if RHP Johan Oviedo or LHPs Payton Tolle or Connelly Early run away with the fifth spot.
Eastlake High grad Marcelo Mayer, the fourth overall pick in 2021, had four homers and a .674 OPS in 44 games last year before wrist surgery ended his season. The 23-year-old could be in the mix at second base or third if he can win a job in a new-look Red Sox infield in the wake of Alex Bregman’s departure. Trevor Story is locked at shortstop, but newcomer Caleb Durbin could start at third and Willson Contreras will start at first base.
OF Roman Anthony, 21, had eight homers and an .859 OPS in 71 games after debuting in June. The former No. 1 overall prospect already signed a nine-year, $130.5 million deal last year, so 2026 is the first chance he’ll get to play a full season in the majors.
Fangraphs projection: 84.7 wins