Why Red Sox’s Bold 2026 Strategy Is Risky
Boston has plenty of pitching, but is that enough?
For the first time since perhaps the Deadball Era, the Boston Red Sox are trying to win with pitching and defense rather than slugging this year.
After signing Ranger Suarez and trading for Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, Craig Breslow has built what might be the best rotation in baseball around Garrett Crochet. Throw in an elite back of the bullpen with Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Crochet, and it’s going to be tough to score runs against the Red Sox this year.
Boston may struggle to score runs itself, however, after trading Rafael Devers last June and losing Alex Bregman this winter. The Red Sox are woefully short on power bats and will likely go a second straight season without a 30-home-run or 100-RBI hitter.
It’s an interesting strategy for a team to pursue in 2026, especially a team that plays half its games at Fenway Park. Boston has traditionally built potent lineups to maximize that advantage, but not this year.
It’s a risky strategy the Red Sox are pursuing, especially considering they already ranked fifth in MLB in ERA last year. Three of the top seven teams in ERA last season missed the playoffs, proving that pitching and defense aren’t enough to win games without sufficient run support.
Boston will need to find some offense somewhere, especially in a tough AL East that’s only gotten better around them. The Red Sox appear to be counting on full seasons from Roman Anthony and Wilyer Abreu, both of whom missed considerable time last year. They’re also banking on young players like Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell to step up.
Boston is also relying on two 33-year-olds, Willson Contreras and Trevor Story, to lead the offense. Story is notoriously injury-prone, and Contreras has seen his WAR total decline in four straight seasons.
It could work, but it’s not like the pitching staff is a sure thing, either. Crochet is coming off the biggest workload of his career, and several of his rotation-mates will have to adjust to their new team, city, division and ballpark. Gray is 36, Chapman turns 38 later this month, and Oviedo only has one season with more than 65 innings.
In other words, there’s not a lot of certainty or thump on the Red Sox roster this year. That could come back to haunt them if their lineup struggles to generate offense or their pitching staff doesn’t live up to the hype.
