The Boston Red Sox have endured a nightmarish start to the 2026 campaign. With a 12-19 record, the Sox have been one of the worst teams in the majors, and they have already fired a large portion of their coaching staff, with manager Alex Cora highlighting the departures from the team.
Former Worcester Red Sox manager Chad Tracy has been promoted to replace Cora in the interim, and he’s also been joined by former Portland Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson, who has become the team’s interim third base coach. Before getting promoted to the majors, Epperson put in some work with one of the team’s top prospects, shortstop Franklin Arias, and he recently offered a rave review of him amid his scorching hot start to the season.
Chad Epperson Gushes Over Franklin Arias
Last year, the Red Sox entered the year with Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell highlighting their farm system. Right now, though, both Anthony and Mayer are struggling in the majors, while Campbell is looking to find his way in the minors. All three are no longer considered prospects, which has left Arias and left-handed starting pitcher Payton Tolle atop the team’s farm system.
With Tolle back in the majors, it seems like he will officially graduate from the farm system in the near future, making Arias the team’s top remaining prospect. Even with a guy like Mayer, who plays in the middle infield, finding his way to the majors recently, Arias could have a future with the team as his partner, whether it be at second base or shortstop, for years to come.
Arias is raking at Double-A so far this season, as he is hitting .375 with eight home runs and 20 RBIs through 20 games. Epperson, who is now with the major-league club, got a firsthand look at Arias to start the season, and he offered some high praise of the talented youngster when discussing his performance so far this year.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in a short period of time where he was driving the ball to all parts of the field and putting himself in good counts,” Epperson said of Arias, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “His chase rate I think was like 18% at the time. It’s crazy for a young kid to be able to do that and it was really, really fun to watch.”
Could the Red Sox Eventually Promote Franklin Arias?
GettyThe Red Sox’s interim third base coach, Chad Epperson, had high praise for Franklin Arias
Arias is still only 20 years old, but he’s caught the attention of the Red Sox, especially given how poorly they have played so far this season. With the team struggling to find answers, particularly at the second base position, it’s fair to wonder if Arias could eventually get called up to the big leagues in an effort to help turn things around.
Boston won’t sacrifice Arias’ long-term outlook just for the sake of trying to salvage the 2026 campaign, but it’s fair to wonder if he would be an upgrade over a guy like Trevor Story, who is hitting just .197 so far this season. That’s a question for another day, though, as the Sox’s immediate concern will involve finding a way to kick off their new three-game series against the Houston Astros with a victory on Friday.
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