It’s fair to say that the Red Sox approached things differently last winter. Boston didn’t re-sign Alex Bregman, opted to sign Ranger Suarez instead, and heavily played the trade market — which worked. But now, what would make sense for the Red Sox this winter?
Biggest needs for Red Sox
Boston’s lineup, at least for now, is fine. In fact, the Red Sox would probably like to move on from Masataka Yoshida‘s contract and perhaps Jarren Duran. After all, the Red Sox’s tentative outfield of Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu is formidable, provided Anthony can have a healthy 2027.
The Red Sox’s infield is fine, too. Curtis Mead could provide a nice jolt with a healthy year in Boston. Adley Rutschman is under team control for another season, putting him in line to be with Boston for a full 162.
Now, the one area that could be a spot to watch is second base. Kristian Campbell was supposed to be the second baseman of the future. But last season, Boston fans saw way more of Nick Sogard and Anthony Seigler at second than Campbell, who spent 2026 in Triple-A.
We mention second base simply because there are a number of high-end players from that position available this winter.
Pitching is where things get complicated.
On paper, the Red Sox’s top part of the rotation is good. And you could argue it’s one of baseball’s best. Garrett Crochet was elite in 2025, and Ranger Suárez and Payton Tolle were in 2026. The same could be said for Sonny Gray, who was a near-perfect rental for Boston. However, he’s a free agent.
Boston could get creative to fill out the rest of the rotation, which tentatively includes those three on the active roster, plus Jake Bennett.
Jedixson Paez showed up late in 2026, making it back to the Majors after being out of sorts with the White Sox before Chicago returned him to Boston.
There’s also Brayan Bello, who pitched extremely well in a long relief/starter role in the second half. How good? His 2.11 ERA was the fourth-best among MLB pitchers who threw at least 40 innings and started at least 20% of their games from July 1 onward.
Tanner Houck is also still on the Red Sox’s roster. He missed nearly all of 2026, sans appearing in the final game of the regular season against the Cubs.
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