Boston Red Sox 2025-2026 Offseason Wish List
The Red Sox became playoff contenders again in 2025. This offseason, they'll look to build toward an even more successful season in 2026.
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The Boston Red Sox set off into the 2025 season with a goal of being more competitive and once again being a playoff contender. By those standards, you could consider the season a success.
The Sox stayed in the division race all year long, and though they ended up taking third in the AL East, they only finished five games back of the division champion Blue Jays. More importantly, the earned a wild-card spot with their 89-73 record, their best mark and first playoff berth since 2021.
As much as things improved, Boston surely would’ve loved a better end to the season. Their stay in the playoffs was brief as they were knocked out in the first round, to their bitter rivals in the Yankees of all teams.
With things now moving in the right direction, the Red Sox will be looking to set the bar higher. An AL East title and a longer playoff stay should be the new expectations and what they do this offseason will go a long way toward whether or not they achieve those goals.
Just over a month into the offseason, Boston has already made a couple of moves to improve the roster. First, they traded for Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray, providing a huge boost to the top of the starting rotation. Next, they acquired Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates, adding even more pitching depth into the fold.
Those moves addressed one position of need, but the front office certainly won’t stop there. To work their way back to the top of the AL totem pole, they need to keep checking items off their wish list.
Top Offseason Priorities for the Boston Red Sox
Bring back Alex Bregman
The Red Sox already know what it’s like to be in the hunt for top free agents. They landed one of the best options on the market just last offseason.
Right as pitchers and catchers were starting to report for spring training, Boston went out and added some firepower to their lineup when they signed long-time Houston Astro Alex Bregman to a three-year deal with opt outs.
Bregman and Boston ended up being a match made in heaven. The 31-year-old finished fourth on the team with a 124 wRC+ and third with a 3.5 fWAR. He also garnered the third All-Star nod of his career.
As good as things went, Bregman decided to see if he could parlay his success into an even bigger deal. The infielder opted out of his deal and ended up back on the free agent market for this offseason.
The Red Sox would be best served to bring one of their top offensive weapons back into the fold, especially if they want to eventually take the division. They had a powerful offense in 2025, tied for sixth in MLB at 4.80 runs per game. Unfortunately, the top two offenses in baseball were also in the AL East: the Blue Jays, who were second at 5.02 runs per game, and the Yankees, who were first at 5.19 runs per game.
Boston needs to add to their offense, not subtract. That’s why Bregman should be a priority this offseason.
Find a Suitor for Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu
Now it might seem odd to talk about needing to retain/improve offensive weapons and then turn around and talk about trading players. But that goes to show the abundance of riches the Red Sox have in the outfield.
Boston outfielders were fantastic during the 2025 season. The collective group was fourth in MLB with a 116 wRC+ and second with a combined 14.4 fWAR. Whether at the plate or in the field, the group excelled.
And that group continues to get deeper and deeper as youngsters keep graduating to the majors. The Roman Anthony era will be in full force in 2026. Kristian Campbell got a cup of outfield coffee last year and could work into the mix depending on what happens with the roster this offseason.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise to see musings that the team might offload one of their talented outfielders. The two names that pop up most are Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu.
Duran has been a staple of the Boston outfield since he eclipsed the 100 games played mark in a season for the first time in 2023. He has a career 113 wRC+ and 12.8 fWAR in 510 games.
He’s also getting pricey compared to his outfield compatriots. He will earn $7.7 million this year and that price will only continue to go up. That may be why there were trade rumors swirling around Duran all the way up to last season’s trade deadline.
Abreu has also proven the ability to hold his own at the plate with a career 115 wRC+ in his three MLB seasons. His true value, though, is in the field where he has won a Gold Glove for each of the last two years.
He has four remaining years of team control as well, which would be very valuable for any potential trade partner. It would also fetch the Red Sox a heck of a return.
If there is any limitation with Abreu, it may be that he’s likely already at his offensive ceiling. So if the Sox truly want to maximize their offensive potential, trading him would make the most sense.
Regardless of who potentially moves, either trade would net Boston a pretty decent haul. Those additional assets could position them well for more offseason acquisitions.
Acquire a Bona Fide Slugger
As previously mentioned, the Red Sox have good reason to pull themselves even in the AL East offensive arms race. And they have more than one avenue to do so.
Free agency is always the most obvious route. Even if they do manage to bring back Bregman as previously mentioned, there are other big bats out on the market that could be great adds to the roster.
There are also some interesting names that have been said to be available via trade in recent days. If those big free agent names get snatched up, Boston could go that route instead.
Potential Free Agent Fits: Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, Munetaka Murakami
If the Red Sox are going to address positions on offense, first base seems like a great start. The team compiled a lowly -0.7 fWAR at the position in 2025, the fourth worst mark at the spot in all of MLB.
Designated hitter would be another good spot to target. Boston got much better production out of that spot, but 93 games came from Rafael Devers and Rob Refsnyder, neither of which are with the team anymore.
Luckily, there are some very good offensive options on the market at both positions. That includes a 2025 home run champ, a two-time Home Run Derby champ, and an NPB League winner of several different awards.
Kyle Schwarber led the NL with 56 homers in 2025, his second time doing so, and led all of MLB with 132 RBIs. His 187 homers over the last four seasons are second most of any player behind just Aaron Judge while his 434 RBIs place fourth. If slugging is what the Red Sox want, he would certainly bring it.
Pete Alonso would definitely do so as well. The lifetime Met led the NL with 41 doubles last year and is just behind Schwarber in 4th in MLB with 158 homers over the last four seasons, though he’s above in RBIs at second with 463. He could greatly upgrade the first base position for Boston.
If the Sox really want to swing for the fences (pun intended), they could look to the top import of the offseason. Munetaka Murakami has an extensive resume that includes 146 doubles, 246 homers, and and 647 RBIs in eight NPB seasons. He also has won titles in both the Japan Series and World Baseball Classic, so he brings championship pedigree too.
Potential Trade Options: Ketel Marte, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan
Perhaps the Red Sox would rather use some of their assets to acquire a slugger as opposed to writing a very big check. There are a bunch of good options here as well.
Less than a year after signing a multi-year extension, Ketel Marte is all of a sudden being made available by the Diamondbacks. The nine-year MLB vet has a career slash line of .281/.351/.472 with 270 career doubles, 171 homers, and 587 RBIs.
Boston would have to shift some things around as Marte’s primary position is second base. The Red Sox have enough flexibility on the roster, though, where they could still make things work.
If the Sox don’t have an interest in taking on Marte’s contract, they could instead look over to the midwest. The Cardinals have multiple players potentially available for trade as they continue to rebuild for the future.
Long-time St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras, who conveniently for Boston recently moved to first base, is reportedly willing to waive his no-trade clause for the right team. He has a career. 252 average and .811 OPS with 172 homers and 548 RBIs in parts of 10 MLB seasons.
Elsewhere on the infield, Brendan Donovan is also rumored to be available for trade. He’s less of a power hitter but still owns a career 119 wRC+. He also is a Gold Glove winner and can play multiple positions, thus there would be many ways Boston could make things work.
It’s worth noting that the Red Sox lost a big trade asset on Thursday when they sent outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia to the Pirates in package that brought back, among others, righty Johan Oviedo. Garcia was Just Baseball’s No. 7 Sox prospect.
Add a Lefty (or Two) to the Bullpen
The Red Sox bullpen was a big point of strength for them in 2025. The unit’s combined 3.41 ERA and 6.8 fWAR led the AL and was second in all of MLB in both categories behind just the Padres relief corps.
When it came to lefty relievers, Boston had arguably the best one in all of baseball in Aroldis Chapman. The team’s closer was tops among all qualified relievers with a 1.17 ERA while finishing second in fWAR at 2.6. He also was fifth in MLB with 32 saves.
The Red Sox got some solid production out of some other lefties as well. Justin Wilson, Steven Matz, Brennan Bernadino, and Chris Murphy all pitched at least 20 games with ERAs under 3.40.
Unfortunately, that entire quartet is now gone. Bernadino and Murphy were both traded this offseason while Wilson and Matz are free agents. That leaves the team very light on lefties in the bullpen, making it a priority this offseason.
Potential Free Agent Fits: Gregory Soto, Caleb Ferguson, Taylor Rogers
There is always a chance the Sox could reunite with either Wilson or Matz and we’ve already discussed their merits. So instead, let’s look at a few other left-handers that Boston could bring into the fold.
If the Red Sox want power pitching, they could do worse than Gregory Soto. The two-time All-Star is coming off a season with a 4.18 ERA over 60.1 innings, but his fastball hits the high 90s and he’s been a sought after arm the last two trade deadlines.
If Boston is looking for a little more youth, they could opt to go with 29-year-old Caleb Ferguson. Another trade deadline target from last year, he has a career 3.66 ERA and held fellow lefties to just a .184 batting average in 2025, the best such mark of his career.
And if they want to go the proven commodity route, they could consider Taylor Rogers. A veteran of 10 MLB seasons and entering his age 35 season, the lefty has a 3.34 ERA for his career and was putting up an excellent season with the Reds (33 IP, 2.45 ERA) before being traded at the deadline and having a rough end of the year with the Cubs.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Red Sox spent four years trying to climb their way back into the playoffs, finally getting the job done in 2025. Now that they’ve reached that milestone, it’s time to reach for a new one.
They’ve wasted little time in trying to further improve the roster, trading for a couple starting pitchers in Gray and Oviedo. They’ll need to do a lot more than that, though, if they want to keep pace in an AL East division that is always one of the toughest in all of baseball.
There’s little reason to believe that Boston won’t make some big time moves this offseason. The only question, really, is how noteworthy the moves are and how many of them there will be.
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Matt Carroll is a writer for Just Baseball and former site expert at Reviewing the Brew. He studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently…