The Boston Red Sox were sent home for the winter by the rival New York Yankees in the Wild Card Series again this year, this time going home in two games rather than three after Wednesday's 9-2 decision at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox were outscored 18-2 in the two-game sweep. They'll now head into the offseason trying, again, to figure out how to get over the Bronx hump.
Boston's regular season was disjointed. They started 10-17, which led to manager Alex Cora's firing, and were 32-46 on the morning of June 25. A win over the Yankees that night spurred a 32-5 stretch during which the Red Sox outscored their opponents by 2.6 runs per game.
They looked simply unbeatable -- like the best team in baseball and the team so many expected coming into 2026. A cool-down period followed and the Red Sox went 23-24 in their final 47 games, including 7-10 in their last 17. Despite a very successful offseason that saw them add All-Stars Willson Contreras, Ranger Suárez and likely Cy Young vote-getter Sonny Gray, the Red Sox ultimately took a step back this season.
The 2027 Red Sox figure to look a lot like the 2026 Red Sox, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Assuming closer Aroldis Chapman passes his postseason physical to lock in his $13 million vesting option, Gray is Boston's only significant free agent. Roles must be sorted out -- is Brayan Bello a starter or reliever? -- but the core of the 2027 Red Sox is in place.
And again, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. But after back-to-back years with an upper-80s win total, it's fair to ask if this group has hit its ceiling and needs an overhaul to take a step forward. Perhaps "overhaul" is too strong a word, but changes involving longtime personnel could be in the cards.
At minimum, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow should have few untouchables this winter. Here now are three things the Red Sox must sort through this offseason. For all intents and purposes, this was a lost season for wunderkind Roman Anthony, who was a trendy MVP pick coming into 2026 and instead played only 55 games around a nagging right hand/wrist issue.
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