Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran (Getty Images)

Through three weeks of play, the Red Sox sit at 7-11 to begin their 2026 season. Much of that losing came during a five-game skid following Opening Day, but over its last 12 games, the team has posted a 6-6 record, returning to be this year’s iteration of the .500-Sox we all know and love.

By getting at least somewhat back on course, the Red Sox have restored some optimism that fans might have lost during the first week of the season, but even so, this is still a group that’s brought more confusion than confidence in the early-going thanks to positive developments in some areas, and negative developments in others.

As such, here are four questions we’re still asking about the Red Sox before they start their next homestand on Friday against the Detroit Tigers.

With Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu, and Caleb Durbin all getting the day off for the series finale against the Twins on Wednesday, Alex Cora shook up the lineup a bit and moved center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela to the two-hole. With the opportunity, Rafaela went 1-for-3 on the day with a walk and two runs scored in what proved to be a highly productive game for the offense.

Rafaela has been a fixture at the bottom of the lineup for the past three seasons for the Sox, but has been one of the team’s best bats in 2026. So far, he’s hitting .300 with an OBP of .386. He’s not driving the ball (SLG of .380), but has proved to be one of the few players that can get on base regularly and only strikes out 17.5 percent of the time.

While we know Rafaela has been prone to hot and cold spells at the plate throughout his career, he’s been one of the better sources of offense for the team so far and perhaps warrants some more opportunities at the plate by sliding up in the lineup. This would make even more sense if guys like Jarren Duran and Caleb Durbin (who had previously been batting second) continue to struggle.

Even if it’s not something that lasts for a long time, it could perhaps be worth a shot to move Rafaela up just to build some more offensive momentum for the team.

The abundance of outfielders has been talked about ad nauseam for the better part of two years, but hadn’t quite manifested itself until Roman Anthony was promoted last season. And even then it didn’t fully prove to be a problem until now – the first extended period of time that Anthony, Duran, Abreu, Rafaela, and Masataka Yoshida have all been on the roster together and expected to regularly contribute.

Through 18 games, it’s shown to be a situation that isn’t sustainable.

On any given night, there’s no telling who will be starting in the outfield, at DH, or on the bench. This prevents any of the five guys from establishing a rhythm when their schedules are so hectic. It’s especially been problematic for Duran who has struggled at the plate so far (.521 OPS and 28.4 percent strikeout rate), and for Anthony, who’s been streaky at the plate while his defensive development isn’t getting the benefit of regular reps in the outfield.

Perhaps the Red Sox were relying on an injury or one of the outfielders struggling much more than the others to fix the issue. An injury hasn’t happened yet and the sample size is too small to bench anyone, but hoping the situation resolves itself on it’s own isn’t the strategy to employ going forward.

Maybe the best way to fix the problem is to eventually trade Duran or Yoshida after flirting with the idea for so long. Or maybe it’s moving Rafaela to the infield on a more regular basis if Caleb Durbin or Marcelo Mayer continues to struggle (more on them in a moment). Everyone will have their own opinion on the best way to solve the log-jam, but the one thing that’s certain is that having too many players can actually be detrimental sometimes.

The infield was the biggest question mark for the Red Sox coming into the year and it’s still proving to be one. Willson Contreras has been great and Trevor Story looks to be heating up, but the team hasn’t gotten much from third baseman Caleb Durbin or second baseman Marcelo Mayer so far.

It might be unfair to jump on either player right now for their slow starts at the plate given their age, relative inexperience, and defensive values. But if their bats stay cool, it’s reasonable to wonder if or when the Red Sox adjust.

In Mayer’s case he’s been hitting the ball decently hard with a 61st-percentile average exit velocity and is taking his walks. His platoon splits have an extremely small sample size currently, but he’s 3-for-4 against left-handed pitchers this year as a bonus. However, he’s still striking out at a 31.2 percent rate – something that doesn’t help a lineup with plenty of swing-and-miss in it already.

As for Durbin, his numbers are driven down from a six-game hitless streak to start the season, but he’s been as advertised from a bat-to-ball standpoint, striking out just 14.5 percent of the time so far. On the downside, he’s hitting the ball on the ground at 63 percent of the time – a 19.2-percent increase from last season, which isn’t inspiring for a lineup without many extra base hits to speak of thus far.

If neither player can get out of their rut, perhaps the Red Sox do explore moving Rafaela to the infield to relieve the outfield’s congestion while also giving Durbin or Mayer the chance to find themselves again in the minors. Or maybe the promotion of someone like Mikey Romero later in the year forces their hand.

Either Durbin or Mayer is capable of going on a hot streak to turn their numbers around and provide a boost for the offense, but we’ll be in wait-and-see mode until it happens.

The Red Sox rotation was vaunted as one of the best in baseball coming into the year, but it’s been far from that so far. Furthermore, the starting pitchers not being able to consistently get into the sixth or even the fifth inning has taxed the bullpen, as the Red Sox currently have gotten 68.1 innings from relief pitchers so far, which is the sixth most of in baseball.

It’s been too small of a sample size to remove anyone from the rotation and Connelly Early, Brayan Bello, and Ranger Suarez are all coming off their best starts of the year. Bello and Suarez in particular came into the season without the benefit of a traditional ramp-up by playing in the World Baseball Classic. Now that both have four starts under their belts, perhaps they’ve turned a corner.

Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray have both gotten off to rocky starts as well. Yet Crochet’s 11-run outing against the Twins didn’t seem to drum up much concern from the team and Gray is a veteran that’s proven to be able to adjust his approach throughout his career. There’s no guarantee that either pitcher will turn it around, but their pedigree perhaps gives them some benefit of the doubt for now.

Might Payton Tolle factor into the equation though?

Through just 15 innings in Triple-A this year, he has a 3.00 ERA and 2.49 FIP, picking up his dominance right where he’d left off in 2025. Furthermore, the secondary pitches (like his curveball) he’d been trying to develop have gotten some solid returns in Worcester so far. The Red Sox were aggressive in promoting him late last season, so perhaps they wouldn’t be afraid to do so again in 2026.

Alex Cora and company have shied away from using a six-man rotation in the past, but perhaps it could benefit the team as it’s currently constructed. It could give someone like Tolle a shot at the major league level if he continues to dominate, while also spacing out starts for guys like Crochet and Gray who have struggled thus far.