FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Last season, the mission for the Red Sox was to get back to the postseason after a three-year drought. The problem was that it ended after just three games, and the gates of Fenway Park never even opened for the postseason. That makes the goal for 2026, obvious. The Sox want to make Fenway loud and proud and make a run deep into October. Backed by a young core led by emerging star Roman Anthony and a pitching staff that was replenished by two proven starters (Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez) to support ace Garrett Crochet, manager Alex Cora’s squad thinks it has what it takes to be a top contender. “We said at the end of last year that getting back to the postseason was step one, and now we're looking to take that next step,” Red Sox president/CEO Sam Kennedy said. “We won 89 games last year. We want to build on that regular season win total, get into the postseason, stay healthy, and take that next step in October. Obviously, winning a World Series is the ultimate goal.” What needs to go right? The bullpen was the area the Red Sox didn’t do a lot of upgrading to over the offseason. Sure, Aroldis Chapman was one of the most dominant closers in the game last year. But can he do that again at 38 years old? Garrett Whitlock emerged into an elite setup man, but he’ll have to do it again to provide the type of bridge to Chapman that the Sox need. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow did add two veteran arms late in Spring Training in lefty Danny Coulombe and righty Tommy Kahnle, but both will have to prove they still have enough left in the tank. Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert and Zack Kelly are all important right arms for Cora. |
Great unknown Do the Red Sox have enough power to compete in the highly-competitive American League East and through October? Breslow started the offseason saying one of his top goals was to acquire a true middle-of-the-order bat. That never happened, and Breslow instead focused on upgrading the starting rotation while adding a couple of solid but not spectacular corner bats in veteran Willson Contreras and scrappy Caleb Durbin, who finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting with the Brewers last season.
Where will the power come from? The answer could be from the blossoming young core led by Anthony, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela. Veterans Jarren Duran, Contreras and Trevor Story are others who might exceed power projections. Team MVP will be ... Anthony. This appears to be his time, as young as he is. Playing on the biggest stage of his life to date in the World Baseball Classic, Anthony thrived to the point he was named left fielder on the All-Tournament team. At the plate, Anthony is a triple threat who has a superior batting eye with the ability to rip the ball into the gaps and over the fence. He is a smart baserunner and an above average defender. |
Team Cy Young will be ... Crochet. He was second in the race for the 2025 AL Cy Young Award behind back-to-back winner Tarik Skubal, and Crochet enters this season in his prime at the age of 26. The lefty has an arsenal of nasty pitches and a competitive fire. Bold prediction Though Gray and Suarez were brought in to be the Nos. 2 and 3 starters in whichever order, Brayan Bello will wind up being the true No. 2 in a breakout season. People forget what strong a season the righty was having last year until a September swoon and a postseason start that was cut short at 28 pitches. If Bello can get his changeup back to where it was prior to last season, his arsenal is nasty and deep. |
MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
|
|
One of the feel-good stories in the final full week of Spring Training took place on Field 6 of the Fenway South complex, as the Red Sox welcomed players who are getting ready for the inaugural season of the WPBL (Women’s Professional Baseball League) later this summer. On Wednesday, there was a practice in which former MLB players Keith Foulke, Doug Mientkiewicz and Jemile Weeks helped run. The next day, the women held an intrasquad scrimmage. Cora checked it out while his team was in the middle of a drill on an adjacent field, and came away impressed with what he was watching. Little League World Series legend Mo’ne Davis, who graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2014 after becoming the first female to throw a shutout in the Little League World Series, was one of the WPBL players who participated.
Two other notables were Melanie Whitmore (the first player taken in the WPBL Draft) and Japanese legend Ayami Sato, who is considered by many to be the best female pitcher of all-time. Sato traveled 24 hours to Fort Myers to take part in this event.
|
The unquestioned highlight of the Spring Breakout game for the Red Sox this year was the pitching performance of righty Anthony Eyanson, whose significant improvement in his velocity over the last few months was there for everyone to see when he hit 100.2 mph on the radar gun during his 14-pitch bottom of the eighth inning.
The third-round pick out of LSU in last year’s MLB Draft mainly stayed around 93-94 mph in his college career. As Eyanson walked on the field after the game to speak to a couple of reporters, fireworks lit up the night, which seemed fitting considering the way his fastball popped against the Orioles.
“He’s just bought in,” Double-A Portland pitching coach Juan Rivera said. “He’s just bought into everything -- pitch design, velo, command work, what's happening in strength and conditioning and the training room. That kid checks every box in every department, and we're seeing it there. It was awesome. It was fun to watch. I was glad that finally others got to see it at that level.” |
FORWARDED FROM A FRIEND? SUBSCRIBE NOW |
To subscribe to Red Sox Beat, visit this page and mark "Red Sox Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Red Sox or that they're checked as your favorite team. |
|
|
|
