Red Sox Eye Second Straight Winter Offensive Upgrades
6 sourcesUpdated Oct 6, 20261 min read
The Boston Red Sox were eliminated by the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year and outscored 18-2. In Game 1 they lost 9-0 after Payton Tolle was removed after 4 2/3 innings and 83 pitches with the score 1-0. In Game 2 Sonny Gray, who went 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA, was pulled after 70 pitches and 4 2/3 innings trailing 1-0; New York won 9-2. Gray said he would have liked to have been trusted in that moment. At the end-of-season press conference Craig Breslow said the offense was inconsistent, got on base at a decent clip but did not slug or hit many home runs, and that improving the offense is a priority. Willson Contreras had said it is not enough to have data or computers telling you what to do because this is baseball. On Monday Breslow said the role of the scout has not been diminished. Chad Tracy said those decisions are his, that no one scripted games, and that he met for multiple hours with Contreras after Game 2. Roman Anthony sustained a new right hand injury in Game 1 after missing early May to late August with the same hand; Breslow said the team is still working through treatment and rest appears the best path with no surgery planned.
Where do you stand?
How it spread
What each side asserts, disputes — or leaves out entirely.
Whose framing of this story rings truest to you?
Right· 0 sources
No right coverage yet — a bubble gap.
Fenway rewards lefty power and smart contact hitters. Building around that while giving the prospects time to develop is the right approach.
Breslow needs to prioritize adding real power bats from outside. Counting on young players to suddenly fix the lineup feels too risky after last season.
