This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Last season, the mission for the Red Sox was to get back to the postseason after a three-year drought. The problem was that it ended after just three games, and the gates of Fenway Park never even opened for the postseason.
That makes the goal for 2026 obvious. The Sox want to make Fenway loud and proud and make a run deep into October.
Backed by a young core led by emerging star Roman Anthony and a pitching staff that was replenished by two proven starters (Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez) to support ace Garrett Crochet, manager Alex Cora’s squad thinks it has what it takes to be a top contender.
“We said at the end of last year that getting back to the postseason was step one, and now we're looking to take that next step,” Red Sox president/CEO Sam Kennedy said. “We won 89 games last year. We want to build on that regular season win total, get into the postseason, stay healthy, and take that next step in October. Obviously, winning a World Series is the ultimate goal.”
What needs to go right?
The bullpen was the area the Red Sox didn’t do a lot of upgrading to over the offseason. Sure, Aroldis Chapman was one of the most dominant closers in the game last year. But can he do that again at 38 years old? Garrett Whitlock emerged into an elite setup man, but he’ll have to do it again to provide the type of bridge to Chapman that the Sox need. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow did add two veteran arms late in Spring Training in lefty Danny Coulombe and righty Tommy Kahnle, but both will have to prove they still have enough left in the tank. Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert and Zack Kelly are all important right arms for Cora.
Great unknown
Do the Red Sox have enough power to compete in the highly-competitive American League East and through October? Breslow started the offseason saying one of his top goals was to acquire a true middle-of-the-order bat. That never happened, and Breslow instead focused on upgrading the starting rotation while adding a couple of solid but not spectacular corner bats in veteran Willson Contreras and scrappy Caleb Durbin, who finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting with the Brewers last season.
Where will the power come from? The answer could be from the blossoming young core led by Anthony, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela. Veterans Jarren Duran, Contreras and Trevor Story are others who might exceed power projections.
Team MVP will be ...
Anthony. This appears to be his time, as young as he is. Playing on the biggest stage of his life to date in the World Baseball Classic, Anthony thrived to the point he was named left fielder on the All-Tournament team. At the plate, Anthony is a triple threat who has a superior batting eye with the ability to rip the ball into the gaps and over the fence. He is a smart baserunner and an above average defender.
Team Cy Young will be ...
Crochet. He was second in the race for the 2025 AL Cy Young Award behind back-to-back winner Tarik Skubal, and Crochet enters this season in his prime at the age of 26. The lefty has an arsenal of nasty pitches and a competitive fire.
Bold prediction
Though Gray and Suarez were brought in to be the Nos. 2 and 3 starters in whichever order, Brayan Bello will wind up being the true No. 2 in a breakout season. People forget what strong a season the righty was having last year until a September swoon and a postseason start that was cut short at 28 pitches. If Bello can get his changeup back to where it was prior to last season, his arsenal is nasty and deep.