Yet the Sox’ internal projections — even at their early-June nadir — suggested a playoff-caliber roster, explaining why the Sox resisted an early-summer selloff. And the first wave of projections offered by FanGraphs place the Sox among the six best-positioned teams entering the offseason. The Sox, anticipating a return to health from Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony, as well as full seasons from deadline pickups Adley Rutschman and Curtis Mead, appear similarly optimistic.
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“We believe that we are a team capable of winning more than 87 games,” chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said last month. “This [time] is about understanding what opportunities we have to improve the team going forward.”
The team feels it has solid internal options at most positions, permitting upgrades in pursuit of a deeper October run to be driven by opportunities to make the most impact rather than glaring needs at specific positions.
Returning: C Adley Rutschman, 1B Willson Contreras, 2B Curtis Mead, SS Trevor Story, 3B Caleb Durbin.
Free agent: Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Depth: SS/2B Franklin Arias, UT Nick Sogard, UT Andruw Monasterio, UT Romy Gonzalez, UT Anthony Seigler, 1B Triston Casas.
Breakdown: Despite a career-best year from Contreras, the Sox felt obvious urgency to upgrade their infield in deals for Mead and Rutschman and an unsuccessful push for an All-Star-caliber shortstop (check-ins on Elly De La Cruz and Bobby Witt Jr., unsuccessful pursuits of air-pull force Zach Neto and Otto Lopez).
The Sox ranked 28th in home runs from infielders and 18th in OPS. So, while they have incumbents at every infield position, the Sox are likely to look for upgrades — particularly righthanded thump.
The Sox didn’t rule out dealing Arias for a shortstop at the deadline, but their top prospect (who turns 21 this month) is now even closer to the big leagues after spending the final months of 2026 in Triple-A. As the roster is constructed, Arias would get consideration as a season-opening big league option.
Some in the organization view Arias as almost untouchable. In a poor positional free agent class, however, the Sox are unlikely to keep Arias off-limits in trade talks, but they’d only consider dealing him for a star with multiple years of control. Because of the defensive flexibility of Durbin, Mead, Arias, and potentially Story, as well as a DH spot that isn’t earmarked for anyone, the Sox can explore the markets at second, short, and third.
The trade deadline offered a large hint of the Sox’ interest in a major near-term upgrade at shortstop and willingness to make moves unrestricted by Story’s status as their highest-paid position player. His role cannot be considered guaranteed.
Returning: LF Roman Anthony, CF Ceddanne Rafaela, RF Wilyer Abreu, LF/CF Jarren Duran, DH Masataka Yoshida.
Free agents: None.
Depth: OF Eli White, DH Jahmai Jones, DH Mickey Gasper, OF Kristian Campbell.
Breakdown: Despite his injury-riddled year, Anthony still shows the traits — great plate discipline, hard contact — to be a star. Thanks to elite defense and slightly above-average offense, Rafaela and Abreu cemented their places as building blocks in 2026.
With that trio in place for years, Duran and Yoshida reside in a familiar state of limbo. Either can contribute but the Sox are open to moving one or both.
The Sox have flirted with dealing Duran for two years and will explore his market again this offseason. Despite a 20/20 campaign, his value is at an all-time low after his chase and whiff rates soared in 2026, resulting in a dismal .207/.266/.361 line.
Even so, continued raises through the arbitration process (projected to yield an $11 million salary for 2027) might compel the Sox to sell low rather than carry a player without an everyday role on an eight-figure salary. He could be a chip to address another need, such as the addition of a righthanded bat.
Yoshida is a solid hitter, but his lack of power and absence of defensive value make him a roster impediment. He can’t be the reason the Sox fail to upgrade their offense.
The Sox could explore free agent outfielders, particularly a righthanded power hitter such as Seiya Suzuki, whose air-pull tendencies make him a better fit for Fenway than Randy Arozarena.
Returning: LHP Garrett Crochet, LHP Payton Tolle, LHP Ranger Suarez, LHP Jake Bennett, RHP Brayan Bello.
Free agents: RHP Sonny Gray, LHP Patrick Sandoval.
Depth: RHP Tanner Houck, RHP Johan Oviedo, RHP Kutter Crawford, RHP John Holobetz, RHP Gage Ziehl.
Breakdown: In a year where Crochet had a 6.30 ERA in just six starts, the rotation still ranked eighth in ERA (3.92) and fifth in fWAR (15.3).
Gray was fantastic, the team’s best starter. But at this stage of the offseason, it seems unlikely the Sox will bring him back via free agency given the expected return to health of Crochet and emergence of Tolle.
While the Sox may look to add depth, they consider lineup upgrades more critical — particularly given their growing confidence in their pitching pipeline to stabilize the rotation. Of course, such a statement comes with the caveat that in the 2025-26 offseason, the Sox didn’t plan on signing Suarez, but did so once they whiffed on their top positional targets.
Returning: LHP Aroldis Chapman, RHP Garrett Whitlock, RHP Tyron Guerrero, LHP Erik Miller, RHP Justin Slaten, RHP Greg Weissert, LHP Alec Gamboa, RHP Wyatt Olds, LHP Jovani Morán.
Free agents: None.
Depth: The depth starters, RHP Angel Bastardo, LHP Tyler Samaniego.
Breakdown: The pairing of Chapman and Whitlock has been the best in baseball at turning leads into wins. The Sox have blown just 11 leads in the eighth and ninth innings since the start of 2025, fewest in baseball. Still, the way the season ended — with Guerrero and Slaten on the injured list, Whitlock pitching through an undiagnosed tibia fracture, and Miller struggling — underscored the need to keep adding depth, particularly given the Sox’ lack of high-octane arms in the upper minors.
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.