FORT MYERS, Fla. – Hours after Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said, “I don’t think we can get overly caught up in public projections,” when asked how he feels about FanGraphs’ ZiPS projection that no player on the roster will hit 20 home runs this year, an intriguing new list dropped.
FanGraphs’ latest projected standings, which MLB shared on X (formerly Twitter), have the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays each going 90-72 to tie for first in the American League East.
It’s a significantly brighter outlook than Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA projections, which have Boston finishing fourth and going 82-80. (82.2-79.8, if you want to split hairs.)
The ’25 Red Sox went 89-73 and clinched one of the three AL Wild Cards, their first winning season and first postseason berth since 2021. That’s two wins better than FanGraphs’ projections on Opening Day last year.
FanGraphs did, however, think the ’25 Red Sox would finish tied with the New York Yankees for second in the East, with the rivals one game behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles. They projected the Toronto Blue Jays, who won the pennant and took the Dodgers to seven games in the World Series, would finish fourth, with an 83-79 record, and a 2.3% chance of winning the World Series.
“We believe not just in our materials and our tools, but also in our players and our staff,” said Breslow. “We may have someone who hits over 20 home runs, we may not.
“Ultimately, we need to win more games.”