Boston Red Sox
“That staff, with [Aroldis] Chapman at the back end, can win a World Series.”
Kevin Millar won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2004. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe
June 8, 2026 | 7:16 PM
3 minutes to read
The 2026 Red Sox haven’t inspired much optimism so far this spring.
Routinely hindered by a lackluster lineup and critical injuries, the Red Sox enter Monday’s game against the Rays in last place in the AL East with a 27-36 record.
As unsightly as that sub-.500 showing might be, a largely mediocre American League has allowed Boston to remain in the playoff race to this point in the season, with the Red Sox still only 4.0 games out of a Wild-Card spot.
It’s for that reason — coupled with Boston’s strong pitching corps — that 2004 World Series champion Kevin Millar doesn’t want his former club to wave the white flag and begin selling off pieces ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“They gotta figure something out. They’re only 3.5 games out of the Wild Card. That’s why you don’t blow it up yet,” Millar told MLB Network’s Brian Kenny last week. “It’s a weird year… Their starting staff, you know, that’s a World Series [staff] — with [Garrett] Crochet coming back.
“And then you look at what Peyton Tolle, just the excitement he could bring to an organization — the fun, the smile, the mustache, everything. My point is that staff, with [Aroldis] Chapman at the back end, can win a World Series, no doubt about it.”
Even with the AL Cy Young runner-up in Crochet sidelined due to injury, the Red Sox’ offseason plan of improving the club’s pitching and team defense has led to encouraging results. Entering Monday, Boston ranks ninth in MLB in team ERA (3.88) and second in defensive runs saved (46).
The return of Crochet and outfielder Roman Anthony at some point this summer will significantly bolster Boston’s odds of orchestrating a mid-season turnaround.
But, Millar stressed that even Anthony’s return to form won’t be enough to resurrect a listless Boston batting order.
“They have to get a dude that hits,” Millar said of the Red Sox’s deadline plans. “Willson Contreras has been awesome for them, right? He has hit, he has hit with power. He’s strong. He’s going to get his five scuffles a year.
[Jarren] Durran’s getting homer hot. But I’ll tell you this, they’ve got to figure out one hitter, whatever they’ve got to do, and make a move. But I don’t know if I blow it up. I have to wait this out and see if we can kind of go. We still have what — two months left to see.”
Even with a strong debut for Contreras, the Red Sox have paid the price for failing to add another impact bat this offseason — with Boston last in MLB in home runs (48) and 29th in runs scored (249).
Last week, ESPN MLB writer Buster Olney said that the Red Sox have been on the prowl for another bat well ahead of the trade deadline — with Boston even willing to take on a “bad contract” in order to add another right-handed hitter to its roster.
“What I’ve heard today is, it’s not just that they are looking for a right-handed hitter, they are aggressively looking for a right-handed hitter and signaling to the industry, ‘Look, we’re willing to take on money. We’re willing to pay a lot of money,’” Olney said on “Just Baseball Media” on Wednesday. “Which, of course, raises the question, why didn’t you just pay Alex Bregman and pay the extra money?
“But the way this is being interpreted in other organizations is: Man, there’s some desperation setting in there in Boston because of this ugly start, how poorly they’re playing at home, winning a third of their games, struggling offensively and understanding they have an imbalance in their lineup.”
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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