On the heels of an 89-win season and Boston’s first playoff appearance since 2021, the Red Sox are looking to build upon their success with an even deeper playoff run next season.
Luckily for the Red Sox, they’ve created a strong infrastructure and an MLB roster filled with a combination of elite stars, proven everyday players and a collection of high-upside young talent. Still, considering some of the obvious holes and issues on Boston’s roster and the state of the AL East, there’s a reason why the Red Sox are widely expected to make more significant transactions this offseason after already making a handful of trades.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the current state of Boston’s roster and turn to the FanGraphs depth charts, which rank each team’s position and respective projections for the 2026 season.
Catcher: 23rd in MLB (2.4 projected WAR)
It was a year of polar opposites for Boston’s primary catchers in 2025. Rookie Carlos Narváez, acquired in a seemingly minor trade with the Yankees the previous offseason, slugged 15 home runs with a .725 OPS and 2.7 WAR, while finishing sixth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Connor Wong, meanwhile, struggled to build on a breakout 2024 season (.758 OPS and 13 home runs), finishing with a .500 OPS and -0.7 WAR in ‘25. Boston’s tandem ranks near the bottom of the league due to Narváez’s limited track record and Wong’s tough 2025 season.
First base: 17th in MLB (1.9 projected WAR)
Long viewed as the first baseman of the future, Triston Casas has struggled to repeat his 2023 season (129 OPS+ and 24 home runs in 132 games) that resulted in a third-place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Injuries limited him to 63 games in 2024 — albeit with a strong .800 OPS — and just 29 games this past season, when the lefty slugger posted a .580 OPS. He’ll only be 26 on Opening Day but with Boston seeking a big power bat this offseason, it’s possible the Red Sox target a first baseman that can share first base and designated hitter duties with Casas and Masataka Yoshida.
Second base: T-14th in MLB (2.6 projected WAR)
We’ll get to the outfield shortly, but second base is one of many positions that could see massive fluctuation in the coming months. Ceddanne Rafaela, the projected starter at second base right now, is an elite defensive center fielder and will assuredly play the bulk of his games there next season after other potential trades (more on that soon). If that happens, left-handed-pitching masher Romy Gonzalez and Nick Sogard are potential options at second base, while Kristian Campbell, who entered last season as a top prospect and signed a long-term extension before being optioned to the Minors, could get a serious runway for the job. D-backs superstar Ketel Marte, too, could be the perfect fit for the Red Sox.
Shortstop: 27th in MLB (2.0 projected WAR)
This projection and ranking might be a bit surprising, considering that Trevor Story had a resurgent 2025 season with a .741 OPS, 25 home runs and 31 stolen bases and finished with 3.0 WAR, 18th-best among shortstops. Projection systems, however, are notoriously conservative and are looking beyond just the previous season. Story was oft-injured and unproductive during his first three years with the Red Sox before 2025 and with him entering his age-33 season, there are still some questions about his production in 2026.
Third base: 23rd in MLB (2.1 projected WAR)
A reunion with Alex Bregman still feels like a possibility, which would catapult this group to a top five unit in the sport. Until that happens or doesn’t happen, the job will likely fall to Marcelo Mayer, the 23-year-old coming off a 44-game debut that saw him post a .674 OPS. Mayer’s season ended prematurely in late July due to right wrist surgery but all indications are he’ll be fully ready for Opening Day. Even with a Bregman reunion, Mayer figures to play a role on the ‘26 Red Sox, unless the youngster is part of a trade this offseason. It’s worth noting that Mayer has dealt with various injuries in his professional career and has never appeared in 100 games in a season, so depth at this position will be needed.
Left field: T-6th in MLB (2.8 projected WAR)
As promised, here’s a discussion about the Red Sox outfield that is very much in flux. Put simply, Boston has too many quality outfielders and not enough room in the form of Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Rafaela. This is a good problem to have, but those are all good everyday players and Rafaela’s elite outfield defense is a little more than wasted at second base. Duran, who played a majority of his games in left field in 2025, is one of the buzziest trade candidates this offseason and could be moved in a blockbuster deal while also fixing the logjam in the outfield.
Center field: 8th in MLB (3.2 projected WAR)
Rafaela and Duran are currently projected to handle the bulk of the center field duties and finish as a top-10 unit. Even with a potential Duran trade on the horizon, Rafaela’s excellent defense and improved offense in 2025 make him a projected upper-echelon center fielder. There’s also Campbell lurking as a potential option if he gets a larger role for the Red Sox next season and taps into his potential.
Right field: 7th in MLB (2.7 projected WAR)
Of the three outfield positions, right field seems like the most stable. Abreu has blossomed into one of the finest defensive right fielders in baseball, resulting in Gold Glove Awards in each of the past two seasons. With a 118 OPS+ in 2024 and 116 mark in ‘25, Abreu is a well rounded player on both sides of the ball. He even shored up his issues against left-handed pitching, going from a .532 OPS against lefties in 2024 to a .676 mark this past season. Abreu has popped up in trade rumors but it seems likely that he won’t be moved.
Designated hitter: 12th in MLB (1.8 projected WAR)
Yoshida is basically a full-time DH now but is coming off a season where he had a 93 OPS+ in 55 games. Yoshida’s been a limited producer (career 109 OPS+) in three MLB seasons but will make $18.6 million in each of the next two seasons. The Red Sox probably want to aim higher at this position but they’re in a tricky situation with Yoshida’s defensive limitations and contract. As things stand, though, Yoshida and the rest of the DH options project as a slightly above-average unit.
Starting pitching: 2nd in MLB (16.9 projected WAR)
After acquiring Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo and with the expected returns of Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford, Boston’s rotation has plenty of intriguing options, which explains their ranking on the depth chart. Led by dominant ace Garrett Crochet at the top of the rotation, Gray follows him and is still a formidable No. 2 or 3 starter who can start a playoff game. With youngsters like Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, there’s plenty of upside in this group, too. The Red Sox, though, have been reportedly targeting more high-end pitchers — they’ve been linked to free agent Michael King — and are willing to trade controllable pitching so Boston’s rotation may not be complete.
Relief pitching: 5th in MLB (3.9 projected WAR)
Boston’s bullpen was elite this past season (second in both ERA and WAR) and it projects to be elite again. Aroldis Chapman is still one of the game’s most dominant relievers and Garrett Whitlock might’ve been the best reliever you didn’t know about in 2025 (2.25 ERA and 2.2 WAR in 72 innings). Greg Weissert and Justin Slaten are strong middle relief options and there’s an abundance of intriguing relievers and potential starters that could shift to relief roles. Teams can always use more pitching and the Red Sox are no different so don’t be surprised if they add a quality veteran reliever to the mix.
