Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox could use ex-players like Kyle Harrison and Kyle Schwarber this season.
Kyle Harrison has been a difference-maker for the Brewers. AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser
There might still be over 80 games left in the Red Sox’ 2026 season, but the writing is on the wall that it’s going to be another lost summer at Fenway Park.
For all of the promise initially rooted in this current season, Boston still sits in last place in the AL East on Sunday evening with a record of 31-44.
Key players like Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet have been hindered by injury, while other regulars like Jarren Duran, Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, and Caleb Durbin have underperformed.
To further twist the knife, several former Red Sox players have impressed with their respective clubs in 2026 — further putting the spotlight on a Boston club that has let plenty of talent leave Fenway over the last few years
Here’s a quick rundown of several former Red Sox and how they’re holding up across MLB so far this summer:
Kyle Harrison, LHP
Harrison — acquired by Boston as one of the top returns in the Rafael Devers trade with San Francisco – only pitched 12 innings with the Red Sox last season before getting flipped to Milwaukee during the winter.
Whereas Caleb Durbin has labored at times as Boston’s starting third baseman, Harrison has thrived as another elite pitcher so far with the Brewers.
The 24-year-old southpaw is 8-1 so far this season in Milwaukee with a 2.50 ERA, striking out 87 batters over 72 innings of work and sporting a WHIP of 1.06.
The Red Sox’ starting rotation has been far from the club’s most pressing issue this season. But, moving on from another promising young lefty like Harrison is already looking like a major whiff.
Dustin May, RHP
A starter like Dustin May stands as a rough case of asset management for Craig Breslow and his staff.
With Boston in need of reinforcements in its rotation last season, the Red Sox dealt away prospects James Tibbs III (acquired a little over a month earlier in the Devers trade) and Zach Ehrhard to acquire May from the Dodgers. The righty was a bust in Boston — appearing in just six games (five starts) and posting a 5.40 ERA.
Giving up a talented prospect in Tibbs for a one-year rental like May is already painful, but the starter has also been a solid option this season with the Cardinals.
After signing a one-year deal in St. Louis this past winter, May is 5-6 this year with a 4.30 ERA — headlined by a one-hit, complete game shutout last week against San Diego.
Dustin May completely dominated the Padres tonight 🔥
Every whiff and called strike from his 1-hit complete game shutout pic.twitter.com/MhIkW4HzVK
— Baseball Performances (@MLBPerformances) June 16, 2026
And, for those keeping track, Tibbs has tormented pitching down in Triple-A so far this season — batting .294 with 20 home runs and 62 RBI over 71 games as one of the Dodgers’ top prospects.
James Tibbs III is having himself a season 🔥
The Dodgers’ No. 10 prospect launched a walk-off home run for Triple-A Oklahoma City last night — his 20th homer of the year.
Tibbs has been one of the organization’s most productive hitters all season and continues to make his case… pic.twitter.com/fsZyVYI8z5
— Blue Dynasty (@D_BlueDynasty) June 19, 2026
Walker Buehler, RHP
Two-time World Series champion Walker Buehler had an underwhelming season with Boston in 2025, sporting a 5.45 ERA across 23 outings before getting released by the team. He bounced back with the Phillies over a short stint in the fall (3-0, 0.66 ERA) before signing a minor-league deal with the Padres.
He hasn’t regained his form as a former standout starter with the Padres, but Buehler has been serviceable in San Diego with a 4-3 record and a 3.96 ERA across 15 starts. Since the start of June, the 31-year-old Buehler is 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA.
Chris Sale, LHP
Chris Sale dominated in his first two seasons with the Red Sox, playing a key role in Boston’s 2018 World Series run. But, the All-Star lefty had a miserable end to his tenure in Boston, making just 56 starts and sporting a 4.16 ERA over his final five seasons with the club from 2019-23.
Sale has regained his form as one of MLB’s top pitchers since Breslow traded him to the Braves in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom.
Despite seemingly entering the “twilight” of his career upon arriving in Atlanta, Sale went on to win the NL Cy Young Award in his first season with the Braves, and now sports a 2.14 ERA through 14 starts so far in 2026.
In three seasons so far with the Braves, Sale is 33-13 with a 2.43 ERA with 482 strikeouts over 381.1 innings of work.
Meanwhile, Grissom — who only appeared in 31 total games with Boston — is batting .231 with four home runs and 27 RBI across 44 games with the Angels in 2026.
Chase Meidroth, 2B
Chase Meidroth wasn’t exactly the headliner in the Garrett Crochet blockbuster deal with the White Sox, with Chicago mostly coveting a pair of blue-chip prospects in Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery as part of that swap.
But, the 24-year-old Meidroth is carving out a solid big-league career as a poised, right-handed bat who can grind out at-bats — similar to what the Red Sox envisioned when it parted ways with valuable capital to acquire Durbin.
So far this season with Chicago, Meidroth is batting .271 with 14 doubles, six home runs, and 25 RBI.
Kyle Schwarber, DH
A Red Sox team short on proven pop at the plate has to be kicking itself for letting Kyle Schwarber walk in free agency after Boston’s unexpected run to the ALCS in 2021.
Since Schwarber left Boston in free agency to sign with the Phillies, he has clubbed 216 home runs in 701 games in Philadelphia, averaging nearly 50 dingers per season with his new club.
He might be a flawed player when it comes to his whiff rate and defensive limitations. But, the Red Sox would welcome the presence of a feared power hitter like Schwarber anchoring the middle of their lineup.
That same offseason where Schwarber signed with Philly, the Red Sox pivoted and signed Masataka Yoshida, who has only hit 31 homers across four seasons with Boston.
Xander Bogaerts, SS
The Padres are already regretting handing Xander Bogaerts an 11-year, $280 million contract in December 2022.
The 33-year-old shortstop has underwhelmed in San Diego, batting .229 with eight home runs and 28 RBI across 72 games.
Still, the case could be made that the Red Sox shouldn’t have even let Bogaerts hit the open market after the 2022 season, with Boston desperately missing Bogaerts’ veteran leadership and pop from the right side of the plate.
Alex Bregman, 3B
Two things can be true. The Red Sox desperately miss Alex Bregman’s veteran presence and his knack for peppering the Green Monster.
But, handing him the same five-year, $175 million deal that he commanded from the Cubs in January also would have been a misstep — given that Bregman is batting .250 with six home runs and 25 RBI on an up-and-down Chicago team.
One can make the case that a full season at Fenway would have boosted those numbers for Bregman, while the optics of losing Bregman just a year after his arrival — which sparked a controversy that led to the Devers’ trade — stands as some poor asset management on the part of Boston.
Nathan Eovaldi, RHP
The Red Sox’ decision to not trade Nathan Eovaldi during a lost 2022 season and then choose to let him walk for nothing the following offseason has been another critical misstep.
The 2018 playoff hero was already a dependable starter for the Red Sox, and that trend has carried over to his time with the Rangers.
While injuries have hindered him at times with Texas, Eovaldi is 41-23 with a 3.32 ERA over the last four seasons with the Rangers — headlined by a 2025 campaign where he went 11-3 with a 1.73 ERA across 22 outings.
This year, Eovaldi is 7-7 with a 4.24 ERA with the Rangers.
Michael Wacha, RHP
Similar to Eovaldi, Michael Wacha is another starter who could have solved plenty of headaches in Boston’s rotation had the Red Sox decided to retain him in free agency a few years back.
One of the few bright spots on the 2022 Red Sox (11-2, 3.32 ERA), Wacha has gone on to serve as a dependable starter for the Padres and Royals over the last four years — accumulating 10.5 WAR over that stretch with a 3.52 ERA.
This year with the Royals, the 34-year-old Wacha is 4-5 with a 3.64 ERA across 94 innings of work.
Rafael Devers, DH/1B
The Rafael Devers trade has seemingly been a lose-lose for both the Red Sox and Giants over the past year.
The Giants — who took on all of $255 million left on Devers’ deal last June — are well below .500 at 31-46 this season, with Devers far from the game-changer on offense he was projected to be.
So far this season, Devers is batting .238 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI with just a .302 on-base percentage. The optics of Devers also waving off a pinch-runner in the ninth inning of Sunday’s loss to Miami were also a terrible look.
Granted, the Red Sox haven’t exactly taken advantage of moving Devers, especially when it comes to squandering several of the assets that were snagged from the Giants in the first place, like Harrison and Tibbs.
And, as much of a headache as Devers was last season, Boston is still missing the assured production that he generated, year in and year out, over his eight-plus years with the Red Sox.
Mookie Betts, SS
Truth be told, Mookie Betts is actually in the midst of the worst season of his standout career — batting .218 with eight homers and 19 RBI across 43 games with the Dodgers.
That potential decline from the 33-year-old star could validate some of Boston’s fears when they traded him to Los Angeles ahead of an expected seismic pay day (12 years, $365 million extension with the Dodgers).
But, even if that contract ages poorly, the Dodgers likely aren’t going to have any regrets over bringing in Betts, who has helped them win three World Series titles while holding court as one of the best players of his generation.
Over the last 7 games, Betts is hitting .357/.379/.643
He just hit a bottom of the ninth inning home run.
On the night, he is 3-for5.
Mookie is getting there. pic.twitter.com/Jm7CbMNgEf
— Nelson Espinal (@nelson__espinal) June 20, 2026
In his six seasons with Los Angeles, Betts has earned four All-Star nods and finished runner-up for NL MVP on two different occasions — to go along with his October hardware.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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