Unless Roman Anthony can throw the team on his back, which sounds more like a “2026” possibility, the Boston Red Sox are destined to be in a dogfight for the third and final Wild Card spot.
In my humble opinion.
The starting rotation is very good at the top, pretty good in the middle, and a crapshoot at the end. In a nutshell, it’s not good enough to run the table and make a run at the Toronto Blue Jays or the new “bullpen giants” at Yankee Stadium.
Same with the Sox bullpen. We saw how thin it really is when Aroldis Chapman suffered a normal occurrence for 37-year-olds – back spasms. All hell broke loose.
And the Red Sox will mix ‘em and match ‘em at first base with Abraham Toro, Romy Gonazelz and Co.
The two acquisitions, starter Dustin May (Dodgers) and lefty reliever Steve Metz (Cardinals), could be plus-acquisitions. Both have experience in big games in baseball cities. But then again, they could be average, or as good as what they already have.
It begs the question to President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow: Do many of us believe the Red Sox are better, in 2025, than they really are?
The game/win that sold me on this current group was Game 3 in Philadelphia.
Down 5-0 in the top of the fifth inning, the Phillies blew a popup to end the inning and probably the sweep of series. The Red Sox took that fourth out and ran off six runs, capped by a Gonzalez grand slam.
As impressive as that was, Red Sox had to regroup twice after the Phillies tied it and won the game, 9-8, in extras.
They then followed up a tough Dodgers loss in the opener to win two tight games and take that series.
But all of that momentum heading into the trade deadline, which included winning two of three in Minnesota, was run over by a Mack Truck on Thursday night.
Breslow talked about some uncomfortable hours on Thursday, probably the thought of adding Wilyer Abreu to a package for one of the big starting pitcher prizes, Joe Ryan of the Twins.
Honestly, his description sounded a lot like Chaim Bloom’s trade deadline drama, hinting they were close to a few big deals, but, as always, ended up with nothing.
The Red Sox have a glut of good to very good outfielders in Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Abreu. Short term that’s a good thing. The long-term glut will be dealt with this winter.
Breslow also has to figure out second base – Rafaela for now, Kristian Campbell or Marcelo Mayer in 2026.
More importantly, Breslow needs to figure out his path going forward in leading the Baseball Ops Dept. for this organization.
The Red Sox are in position, because of revenues — a.k.a. the highly passionate fan base — to spend expend more resources to acquire talent rather than shop at bargain outlets.
His trade for Garrett Crochet was a supreme example of what high-end franchises can do. Catcher Kyle Teel, the top prospect in that deal, has All-Star caliber written all over him. But Crochet has multiple Cy Young Award candidate written all over him.
Breslow brought that December trade up on Thursday night, as a badge of honor, but I disagree. That sort of risk-taking should be the rule instead of the exception.
Breslow has made some good decisions, particularly signing Chapman for peanuts ($10.75M) and signing Toro to a minor league deal.
Heck, his signing of Walker Beuhler showed some moxie, particularly the $20 million, one-year price tag. He has underachieved, but it was worth the risk with his Dodgers background.
And, of course, his signing of Alex Bregman, to opt-out classic, three-year, $120 million deal, per manager Alex Cora’s highest recommendation, was a game-changer.
Breslow has survived the Rafael Devers drama, despite the not-so-great return from the Giants, as Devers’ time had come to an end.
Maybe Breslow’s expectation was that 2025 would, in the end, allow him time to build a winner for 2026 through 2030.
But a 10-game winning streak in early July and a gutsy pre-trade deadline changed everything.
This Red Sox team is pretty good, bordering on good. Bregman and, come to find out, Chapman — both World Series champs — have been mentors to their inexperienced teammates.
All of this good, positive, upward-trending energy, though, got slammed on 6:01 p.m. on Thursday night.
It makes us wonder about 2026. Is that going to be about finding bargains — injured, Tommy John-ish former champs — instead of a key player or two in their primes.
The Red Sox will be in position this winter to make a big move or two, maybe making a decision on the “glut” in the outfield and pay the piper.
The recent history under owner John Henry over the last decade is to overreact a bad decision – see Jon Lester free agency and the $210 million deal for David Price a year later — with another bad decision.
Not making the postseason this fall would be huge disappointment. Huge!
The natives, as in millions of northern New Englanders, would be restless. If you win, the high prices of being a fan around here won’t as much of an issue.
The Red Sox future is bright. Obviously. But the “now” is bright, too.
Breslow didn’t overreact. Hell, he didn’t even react.
After too many recent seasons and dull trade deadlines, you’ve got to read the room a lot better than Breslow and Co.
“Wait ‘til next year” used to work around here, sort of joke about the near-misses post-Babe Ruth blunder.
It’s not funny any more.
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.