The Boston Red Sox are off to a slow start this season. They are 4-8 in their first 12 games and have fallen to the bottom of the American League East. They are even in a three-way tie for the second worst record in the AL.
Last offseason, they failed to re-sign Alex Bregman, who left for the Chicago Cubs. However, perhaps it is worse that they did not replace him. Caleb Durbin is a solid pickup, but he doesn’t provide the same offensive firepower that Bregman does.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report listed one decision from the past offseason that each major league team is going to regret, and for Boston, it was the fact that they did not add a big bat to go with Willson Contreras.
“It’s hard to shake that the Red Sox alienated Rafael Devers while giving up draft-pick compensation and international bonus pool money to sign Alex Bregman as a qualified free agent, only to allow him to leave for nothing after one year in free agency,” Kelly wrote.
“It would have been one thing if the Red Sox pivoted to a free agent with more home run potential, such as Alonso, Kyle Schwarber or even Eugenio Suárez. But failing to either re-sign Bregman or add another big bat around Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu is perplexing.”
Boston Red Sox May Regret Not Adding More Offense
It is certainly perplexing that Boston did not add another power hitter to its lineup. Bregman is hard to replace, but there were still plenty of options available in free agency that could have helped them out. Instead, they focused all their energy on their pitching staff, which is not necessarily a bad approach, but it just was not the correct approach to take given their needs.
Boston has scored just 44 runs this season, the third fewest in the American League, and this could have easily been prevented had it added a bat to its lineup. Contreras can be that type of player for Boston, but not having Bregman certainly hurts their chances.
The Red Sox have started to play a little better as of late, having just won their recent series with the Milwaukee Brewers, but they still need more offensive production, and it is unclear what the current group will be able to give them for the rest of the season if it remains as it is now.
What’s Next for Red Sox?
If the Red Sox can start to play better, perhaps they will go out and add a piece or two at the trade deadline to boost their offense. If they can’t fix their issues, however, it may be a long season at Fenway Park.
At that point, the Red Sox may be best served selling at the trade deadline as opposed to buying. Their lack of offense could potentially take them out of contention before too long. It will be interesting to see if they can turn things around or if they will be forced to pivot away from the 2026 roster.
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