Boston Red Sox
While players like Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela impressed in 2026, other veterans like Trevor Story and Jarren Duran left a lot be desired.
The Red Sox outfield had some key contributors and lackluster results. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
October 19, 2026 | 1:02 PM
7 minutes to read
The 2026 Red Sox might have been the story of the summer in Boston thanks to a 32-5 run that turned their season around.
But after Boston’s campaign ended in the Bronx for the second year in a row, it’s hard to chalk this year up as a success — given that the same flaws that thwarted the Red Sox in 2025 reared their collective head again this fall.
Considering the peaks and valleys Chad Tracy’s club traversed in 2026, it’s no surprise the report card for this Red Sox roster is etched with some impressive grades—and some near-failing marks.
Over the next two days, we’ll go through our full grades for this Red Sox roster — starting with the position players on Monday.
To whittle down the list, we’re grading position players with at least 50 games played this past year.
CATCHER
Adley Rutschman: C
The Red Sox paid a steep price to pry Rutschman out of Baltimore in early August, draining their pool of top pitching prospects to add a potential franchise backstop.
The 28-year-old Rutschman brought plenty of value as a veteran leader and plus defender at catcher, ranking in the 96th percentile in caught stealing above average, and the 93rd percentile in pitch framing.
But Boston gave up a lot of valuable prospect capital for a catcher who is also expected to provide plenty of pop in the heart of the lineup. That wasn’t the case for Rutschman — who slashed .222/.278/.410 with five home runs and 13 RBI over 32 games with Boston.
Boston needs more from Rutschman when he’s up at the plate, especially if the veteran wants to secure a long-term extension with the Red Sox moving forward.
Connor Wong: C-
The good news is that Wong improved from a 2025 season in which he hit just .190 and posted concerning defensive metrics. The bad news? Wong only “improved” to a .233 batting average with four home runs and 25 RBI over 77 games, with his defensive woes continuing.
INFIELD
Willson Contreras: A+
A Red Sox team in desperate need of production at the plate and passion on the field found it in Contreras this summer.
The veteran first baseman was a great offseason pickup for Craig Breslow — slashing .275/.386/.516 with a career-high 27 home runs and 81 RBI in just 130 games.
Contreras’ OPS of .902 ranked third in baseball in 2026, behind only the presumed MVP favorites in Yordan Alvarez (1.033) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (.942).
Contreras slowed down in the second half, batting .220 with four home runs and 11 RBI over his final 24 games, though that was partly because he played through several injuries.
Mickey Gasper: A
I’ll tell my children of the two-week stretch where journeyman Mickey Gasper suddenly turned into Barry Bonds for the Red Sox.
After being recalled in late August, the Bryant University standout teed off against big-league pitching — batting .378 with a whopping 1.525 OPS, eight home runs, and 15 RBI over a 16-game stretch.
He inevitably cooled down the rest of the way, but Gasper’s heater might make him an appealing option as a platoon bat for Chad Tracy’s roster in 2027 and beyond. Given Gasper’s role, slugging 10 home runs and driving in 24 runs over 67 games offered tremendous value for Boston.
Nick Sogard: A-
Earning regular playing time in the big leagues has been a challenge for the 29-year-old Sogard, though that says more about Boston’s bench depth than Sogard’s standing as a viable MLB contributor.
Because whenever Sogard earns an opportunity, he looks like a player who belongs at baseball’s highest level.
Beyond his defensive versatility, Sogard hit .255 with five home runs, 14 doubles, and 19 RBI over 66 games — posting 1.4 WAR over that stretch.
Caleb Durbin: B+
For a stretch, it looked like Durbin was going to be the target of Red Sox fans’ vitriol this summer — due in large part to a horrid start at the plate (.163 batting average, one home run in first 48 games).
But the scrappy third baseman eventually ingratiated himself as a “dirt dog” in Boston the season went on — batting .283 the rest of the year (105 games) with 17 doubles, 12 home runs, and 48 RBI while dealing with a dislocated pinky finger.
Durbin’s biggest contributions came at the hot corner, with the 26-year-old infielder leading all AL third basemen with plus-13 defensive runs saved.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa: B-
The veteran utility man struggled after returning from a stress reaction in his right forearm, hitting just .143 with one extra-base hit over his final 19 games of the season.
But Kiner-Falefa was one of the few pleasant surprises from Boston’s up-and-down start to the 2026 campaign — batting .277 with a .344 on-base percentage over his first 47 games while playing all across the infield.
Andruw Monasterio, B-
Yet another utility player who left his fingerprints all over the team’s midseason turnaround, Monasterio provided plenty of value at the plate — even if he was a bit streaky.
At one point from July 1 to August 18, Monasterio was a masher in Boston’s lineup — batting .315 with an .882 OPS. In those 36 games, he slugged 16 extra-base hits and drove in 25 runs.
But Monasterio went ice cold down the stretch, hitting just .100 over his final 21 regular-season games, while his defense was suspect across the infield.
Trevor Story: D-
If the 2025 campaign was a major step forward for Story in terms of offensive production (25 home runs, 96 RBI) and health (157 games played), then this past season was an outright faceplant.
The veteran shortstop appeared in just 63 games due to injury — the third-most games he’s logged in a single season with Boston, after 43 and 26 in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
But even when he was on the field for Boston, Story wasn’t much of a difference maker — slashing .235/.271/.351 with five home runs and 29 RBIs.
With one year left on his deal and blue-chip prospect Franklin Arias knocking at the door, Story’s future in Boston could be in peril.
OUTFIELD
Ceddanne Rafaela: A+
It should come as little surprise that Rafaela once again held court as one of baseball’s elite defensive outfielders in 2026.
But the one knock against Rafaela since he arrived in the majors has been his inconsistent offense — with two-week heaters giving way to matching cold spells at the plate.
Such wasn’t the case for Rafaela en route to his first All-Star appearance in 2026 — with the 26-year-old outfielder batting .283 with 16 home runs, 70 RBI, 22 stolen bases and a .761 OPS.
Rafaela’s plate discipline may still keep him from being a legitimate franchise bat in the heart of the lineup. But he’s a lot better than his initial projections as a No. 9 hitter.
And so long as he continues to vacuum just about every baseball scorched his way, Rafalea will provide immense value to this roster.
Wilyer Abreu: A
Much like Rafaela, Abreu’s sterling defense is well established at this point — with the 27-year-old the odds-on favorite to win his third straight AL Golden Glove in right field this winter.
But the knock against Abreu has been his durability and consistency over his first few years in Boston.
He’s still a streaky hitter, but Abreu showed he can still do damage as long as he stays in the lineup.
Abreu appeared in 157 games with Boston in 2026, batting .248 with a career-high 24 home runs and 78 RBI while leading the AL with 38 doubles.
After earning limited at-bats against lefties in his career, he went out in 2026 and hit .295 against southpaws with six home runs and 27 RBI in 217 at-bats.
If he can continue to smooth out some of those extended slumps, Abreu has the makings of a potent middle-of-the-order bat.
Roman Anthony: D
It feels like only a few months ago Anthony was garnering legitimate MVP hype from national baseball writers as he entered his first full season in the big leagues.
That hype only grew after the 22-year-old outfielder starred for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, and a few stretches this year made the former top prospect look like the franchise fixture Boston is banking on him to become.
But that development was severely stunted in 2026, with a seemingly everlasting wrist/finger injury railroading Anthony’s season.
Even before that injury, which flared up again in the playoffs, Anthony didn’t look like the poised, disciplined hitter who thrilled Red Sox fans in 2025 — batting .229 with one home run, five RBIs, and 33 strikeouts in his first 109 at-bats.
Boston is banking on Anthony bouncing back in 2027.
But beyond holding out hope that his nagging hand injury will heal itself over the winter, the Red Sox can’t operate with the assumption that an unproven youngster with injury concerns like Anthony can anchor Boston’s lineup next summer.
Mastaka Yoshida: C+
Yoshida is what he is at this point: A professional hitter with strong bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline (.274 average, .347 on-base percentage), but with not enough pop at the plate (five home runs in 87 games) to warrant a full-time role as Boston’s DH.
Add in Yoshida’s poor defense—making him a square peg in the round hole that is already a crowded Boston outfield—and the 33-year-old feels like another player mired in no-man’s land on the Red Sox roster as he enters the final season of his five-year, $90 million deal in 2027.
Jarren Duran: D-
A quick glance at Duran’s final stat line for the 2026 season seemingly offers up some silver linings.
Yes, the 30-year-old outfielder still slugged 20 home runs and swiped 21 bases while playing strong defense in left field.
But all things considered, he was an abject disaster at the plate — batting just .207 with a woeful .266 on-base percentage.
Even though Duran’s power and speed made him a boom-or-bust type of talent who could deliver a big swing or two, his poor plate discipline and struggles against lefties often led to far too many games with multiple uncompetitive at-bats.
Meanwhile, platoon bats or other fleet-footed outfielders like Jahmai Jones and Eli White offered stronger — and more consistent returns — in their limited roles.
Boston’s unwillingness to trade Duran for a sizable return after either the 2024 season (when he posted a 9.0 WAR campaign) or after 2025 (4.9 WAR) sure looks like a brutal miscalculation in asset management — especially coming off a 2026 campaign where he only accrued 0.4 WAR.
Remember when the Padres reportedly offered righty (and likely 2026 AL Cy Young Award runner-up) Dylan Cease and top catcher prospect Ethan Salas to the Red Sox for Duran last year? Wooof.
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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