Offseason Outlook: Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox finally made it back to the postseason this year, though their third place finish in the AL East and a quick exit in the Wild Card Series at the hands of the Yankees leaves fans hoping for more in 2026.
Guaranteed Contracts
- Garrett Crochet, LHP: $166MM through 2031 (deal includes conditional $15MM club option for 2032; can opt out after 2030)
- Roman Anthony, OF: $125MM through 2033 (deal includes $30MM club option for 2034)
- Brayan Bello, RHP: $50.5MM through 2029 (includes $1MM buyout on $21MM club option for 2030)
- Kristian Campbell, 2B/OF: $47MM through 2032 (includes $4MM buyout on $19MM club option for 2033, deal includes $21MM club option for 2034)
- Ceddanne Rafaela, OF/2B: $46MM through 2031 (includes $4MM buyout on $16MM club option for 2032)
- Masataka Yoshida, DH: $36MM through 2027
- Jordan Hicks, RHP: $24MM through 2027
- Aroldis Chapman, LHP: $13.3MM through 2026 (includes $300K buyout on $13MM vesting option for 2027)
- Patrick Sandoval, LHP: $12.75MM through 2026
- Garrett Whitlock, RHP: $8.25MM through 2026 (includes $1MM buyout on $8.25MM club option for 2027, deal includes $10.5MM club option for 2028)
Option Decisions:
- Alex Bregman, 3B: Will opt out of $80MM through 2027 ($40MM deferred)
- Trevor Story, SS: Can opt out of final $50MM through 2027. If opt out exercised, Red Sox can either void it by exercising $25MM club option or pay Story a $5MM buyout.
- Lucas Giolito, RHP: $19MM mutual option with $1.5MM buyout.
- Liam Hendriks, RHP: $12MM mutual option with $2MM buyout.
- Jarren Duran, OF: $8MM club option with $100K buyout. Eligible for arbitration if option is declined.
Total 2026 commitments: $168.9MM
Total future commitments: $662.4MM
Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Nathaniel Lowe (5.145): $13.5MM
- Tanner Houck (4.100): $3.95MM
- Jarren Duran (3.155): $8.4MM (if club option declined)
- Kutter Crawford (3.136): $2.75MM
- Romy Gonzalez (3.083): $1.8MM
- Connor Wong (3.079): $1.6MM
- Triston Casas (3.032): $1.7MM
- Josh Winckowski: (3.003): $800K
- Brennan Bernardino (2.150): $1.1MM
- Non-tender candidates: Lowe, Houck, Wong, Winckowski
Free Agents
Much of Boston's offseason will be dictated by the opt out decisions made by the left side of the club's infield. Alex Bregman is already expected to opt out of his contract and return to the open market, but it's not yet clear whether or not Trevor Story will follow in those footsteps. With no locked in starter at second base and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow unwilling to commit to Triston Casas at first base for next year, it's not impossible to imagine a scenario where the Red Sox are looking to reshape their entire infield as they look for defensive upgrades.
At the very least, they'll need to either re-sign or replace Bregman. Re-signing the veteran coming off his third career All-Star appearance may prove to be the most sensible course of action. While he'll be seeking a true long-term deal this winter as he heads into his age-32 campaign, it would be difficult to find the sort of production Bregman offers elsewhere. Just three third basemen (Jose Ramirez, Junior Caminero, and Isaac Paredes) posted a higher wRC+ than Bregman's 125 this year, and Fangraphs' Def metric pegs Bregman as the seventh-most valuable defensive third baseman in baseball this year despite a quad injury limiting him to just 114 games.
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Latest On Lucas Giolito
Right-hander Lucas Giolito had a pretty good year with the Red Sox in 2025 but it ended on a frustrating note as he wasn’t included on Boston’s postseason roster due to an elbow injury. Even before the Sox were eliminated, manager Alex Cora said Giolito was most likely not going to be coming back this year. Today, Chris Cotillo of MassLive provided an update on the righty’s status. Giolito has been on a throwing program with one source telling Cotillo that Giolito is “100%” while another source said Giolito is “making improvements.”
Giolito’s status is noteworthy at this stage of the offseason as he is about to return to free agency. He originally signed with the Red Sox ahead of the 2024 season, a two-year deal worth $38.5MM. Giolito had a chance to opt out of that deal after 2024 but he ended up missing that entire season due to UCL surgery, so he naturally decided to stay with Boston for the second season.
By foregoing that opt-out chance, he gave the Red Sox a $14MM club option for 2026. However, he could convert that to a $19MM mutual option by pitching 140 frames in 2025. He got to 145 frames this year, successfully converting it. Mutual options are almost never picked up by both sides, with the last instance being more than a decade ago at this point. As such, Giolito will almost certainly get the $1.5MM buyout instead.
There’s a long winter ahead but Giolito’s health in the near term is important. As pointed out by Cotillo, the Sox have until five days after the World Series to decide whether or not to issue Giolito a qualifying offer, which is a one-year deal worth $22.025MM. That’s roughly what the Sox have been paying Giolito annually on his two-year deal, so it’s not a huge spike.
However, there are reasons why the Sox may not feel comfortable with continuing to pay Giolito a salary in that range. The obvious one is the elbow. It has been previously reported that Giolito has no UCL damage but does have flexor irritation and a bone issue. If the Sox felt that injury could linger into 2026, then they may prefer to walk away.
The other issue is Giolito’s performance. The Sox initially bought low on him. He was a borderline ace a few years ago, earning Cy Young votes in three straight years from 2019 to 2021. But his ERA spiked to just under 5.00 in both 2022 and 2023. Even in those poor seasons, he struck out more than 25% of batters faced. That was a drop from his peak, when he was striking out around 33% of opponents, but it was still above average.
In 2025, Giolito managed to finish strong in the ERA department but without getting his strikeouts back. He had a solid 3.41 ERA for the year overall. He had a rough 6.42 ERA through seven starts but then an excellent 2.51 ERA over his final 19 starts. However, even in that latter sample, he was only punching out 20.3% of opponents. For reference, the average strikeout rate for a starting pitcher in 2025 was 21.8%. That figure is probably inflated a bit by the use of openers, but Giolito’s rate is still fairly middling.
The other issue is that the reward for making a QO may be lesser than in the past. The Sox got the 75th overall pick in the 2025 draft when Nick Pivetta rejected a QO and signed with the Padres last offseason, but that was after a year in which the Sox did not pay the competitive balance tax. Both RosterResource and Cot’s Baseball Contracts estimate that the Sox went slightly over the tax line in 2025. Those are unofficial estimates, but if they are accurate, then the QO compensation pick would fall to after the fourth round of the draft if Giolito were to reject a QO and sign elsewhere.
Giolito likely would have started a playoff game for the Sox if he were healthy. He and Brayan Bello were the most established options behind ace Garrett Crochet. Instead, Bello and rookie Connelly Early made starts alongside Crochet. Cotillo suggests the Sox are quite happy with Giolito, including as a veteran clubhouse leader. Even with some concerning numbers and the lesser benefit from making the QO, perhaps they will do it anyway if they would be happy for him to accept. Though even if they like Giolito, they may not want to tie up $22.025MM of their budget just as the offseason is beginning, especially if Giolito’s elbow is still an issue.
A bit of progress in the next few days could increase Boston’s willingness to issue the QO. It may also increase his willingness to turn it down and explore the market. Even if they do offer it, he gets a couple of weeks to talk to other teams and gauge his market before making his decision on the QO. His market with non-Boston teams will depend both upon his health and whether or not he is attached to a QO.
Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images
Nationals Interview Chad Epperson In Managerial Search
The Nationals have interviewed Red Sox’s Double-A manager Chad Epperson as part of their managerial search, reports Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post. He joins Brandon Hyde as the only known interviewees.
The Post’s Andrew Golden wrote this afternoon that the Nats have informed interim manager Miguel Cairo that he is no longer in the running. Golden reported that the Nationals were interested in speaking with former Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli and Dodgers bench coach Danny Lehmann, but it’s not known if either of them have formally interviewed.
Washington’s new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni was previously an assistant general manager with the Red Sox. He’s familiar with Epperson and evidently valued his work in the Boston organization. The 53-year-old Epperson has been with the Sox for over 20 years. He got his first affiliated managerial gig in Low-A back in 2004.
Epperson managed in A-ball for six seasons before becoming the organization’s minor league catching coordinator. He held that position for 12 years until returning to the dugout. Epperson has led the Sox’s Double-A team in Portland for the past four seasons. He also worked as a quality control coach with the Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League over the 2024-25 offseason.
AL East Notes: Story, Flaherty, Lowe, Fairbanks
MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and Sean McAdam touched on an assortment of Red Sox topics in the latest edition of their Fenway Rundown podcast, including a brief mention of Trevor Story‘s status as the shortstop considers an opt-out clause in his contract. Cotillo believes “the Red Sox are pretty cautiously very optimistic that” Story will be staying with the team, and while’s plenty of grey area within that statement, it does offer some indication that Story is leaning towards declining his opt-out.
Story is owed $25MM in each of the next two seasons, plus there’s a $5MM buyout on his $25MM club option for the 2028 campaign. The Red Sox can override Story’s opt-out by guaranteeing that 2028 club option right now, but that doesn’t appear to be on the team’s radar, so the ball looks to be entirely in Story’s court. While Story’s .263/.308/.433 slash line and 25 homers over 654 plate appearances only translates to a 101 wRC+, his numbers were weighed down by a cold start to the season, as Story posted an .825 OPS over his final 429 PA.
Between this strong finish and a thin free agent shortstop market, there’s a case for Story to leave his $55MM guaranteed on the table and look for a bigger contract this winter. On the flip side, Story turns 33 next month, his defensive metrics were subpar, and the injury problems that plagued him in 2022-24 will be on the minds of front offices even though Story stayed pretty healthy in 2025. If Story wants to avoid the risks of another prolonged stint in free agency, staying in Boston with a contending Red Sox team certainly seems like a viable choice.
More from around the AL East…
- Earlier this month, Jon Heyman of the New York Post floated Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty as a logical candidate to be part of the Orioles‘ managerial search. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko reports that Flaherty did indeed interview with the O’s about the position before the club opted to hire Guardians associate manager Craig Albernaz. Any number of other names might’ve been considered by the Orioles, but Flaherty joins Albert Pujols, Luis Rojas, and Scott Servais as the candidates directly linked to Baltimore’s search whether in formal interviews or (in Servais’ case) just some interest on the club’s part. Flaherty’s six seasons as an Orioles player likely held some extra appeal for Baltimore’s front office, but his well-regarded work as a bench coach in Chicago and San Diego has put him in the running for multiple managerial vacancies. Flaherty is reportedly one of the finalists for the Twins’ job, and he is a candidate for both the Padres and Braves in their ongoing searches.
- The Rays hold a pair of club options on Brandon Lowe ($11.5MM) and Pete Fairbanks ($11MM) for the 2026 season, and both players have expressed a desire to remain in Tampa. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times explores the option decisions, noting that between the team’s offensive needs and how “the Rays typically view the bullpen as more changeable and volatile on a year-to-year basis,” Lowe seems more likely than Fairbanks to be part of the 2026 roster. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Fairbanks’ option will be declined, however, as the Rays would then lose the closer for nothing in free agency. Perhaps the most probable scenario is that Tampa Bay will pick up both options and then explore trade possibilities for either player — in Fairbanks’ case, his $11MM salary might not seem that onerous to some rival clubs in need of high-leverage bullpen help.
MLBTR Podcast: Bo Bichette’s Health, Kazuma Okamoto, And Dylan Cease’s Market
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Blue Jays getting Bo Bichette back for the World Series as he is on the cusp of free agency (2:45)
- Kazuma Okamoto to be posted for MLB clubs this offseason (10:45)
- The free agent market for Dylan Cease, who has interest from the Cubs (20:10)
- The Orioles hiring Craig Albernaz and the Angels hiring Kurt Suzuki for their managerial vacancies (34:45)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- If the Blue Jays were to extend Addison Barger, would the Lawrence Butler deal be a good comp? (40:35)
- If a veteran signs a minor league deal, are they eligible to be taken in the Rule 5 draft? (44:50)
- Will the Red Sox trade Jarren Duran? (46:25)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Phillies’ Outfield, Tarik Skubal, And Hiring College Coaches – listen here
- Murakami To Be Posted This Offseason, Managerial Vacancies, And More! – listen here
- Rockies’ Front Office Changes, Skip Schumaker, And ABS Talk – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images
Red Sox Sign Jason Delay To Minor League Contract
The Red Sox have signed catcher Jason Delay to a minor league deal, according to Just Baseball Media’s Aram Leighton. Presumably the contract contains an invitation for Delay to attend Boston’s big league Spring Training camp.
Delay was a fourth-round pick for the Pirates in the 2017 draft, and he had spent his entire pro career in Pittsburgh’s organization before he was traded to the Braves back in April. Atlanta wanted a bit of extra catching depth while Sean Murphy was on the injured list, but Delay ended up not getting any action at the big league level. Delay instead hit .200/.261/.257 over 251 plate appearances at the Double-A and (mostly) Triple-A levels before he was outrighted off the 40-man roster at the end of July.
Though Delay could’ve opted for free agency since he had a past outright on his record, he chose to stick it out with Triple-A Gwinnett for the rest of the season and then elected to become a free agent in early October. It didn’t take long for Delay to line up his next team, as he’ll now become the third catcher in Boston’s organization with any MLB experience.
The first two of those backstops are Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong, who project as the starting and backup catcher in 2026. That said, Wong is coming off a rough 2025 season and he underwent hand surgery a couple of weeks ago, plus Narvaez also had a minor knee surgery. Both backstops are expected to be ready for Spring Training, yet Delay’s addition gives the Red Sox some guard against any rehab setbacks, or the possibility that the Sox could move on Wong entirely.
Delay received a good chunk of playing time with the Pirates in 2022-23 before Joey Bart, Yasmani Grandal, and Henry Davis pushed Delay down the depth chart in 2024. Over 373 career PA in the majors, Delay has hit .231/.295/.315 with two home runs.
Tomas Nido, Jose De Leon Elect Free Agency
Catcher Tomas Nido and right-hander Jose De Leon both recently elected to become free agents, as per the MILB.com transactions log. The Red Sox outrighted De Leon off their 40-man roster last week, while Nido was outrighted off the Tigers’ 40-man roster back in May and was never added back. These outrights and the fact that both players have over three years of MLB service time allowed the duo to test the open market.
A veteran of nine Major League seasons, Nido appeared in 10 games with the Tigers after inking a minor league pact last offseason, and hit .343/.361/.343 over 37 plate appearances on the active roster. Jake Rogers suffered an oblique strain in April that opened the door for Detroit to select Nido’s contract, and the Tigers then designated Nido for assignment and outrighted him once Rogers was healthy. Nido could’ve declined the outright assignment and become a free agent then, but instead chose to stay at Triple-A Toledo in a depth role, suiting up in 48 games for the Mud Hens and hitting .209/.267/.331 over 189 PA.
Nido is a classic glove-first backstop, with only a .215/.249/.310 slash line to show for his 982 PA in the majors (895 of them with the Mets). The 31-year-old will surely land another minor league deal this winter with another team looking for experienced catching depth, though it’ll likely require another injury further up the depth chart for Nido to get any significant MLB playing time in 2026.
The Red Sox signed De Leon to a minor league contract last winter, and selected him to the active roster to make a start in Boston’s very last game of the regular season, as the Sox were saving their regular starters for the playoffs. De Leon tossed a quality start (6 2/3 IP, three ER on eight hits and three walks, with eight strikeouts) to earn his first big league win since the 2019 season, when De Leon was still a member of the Rays.
De Leon was one of baseball’s more highly-touted pitching prospects during his minor league days, but he has amassed only 72 MLB innings over parts of seven seasons since making his debut in the Show in September 2016. A pair of Tommy John surgeries and several other injuries were roadblocks in De Leon’s career, and the second of those TJ procedures (in June 2023) cost the righty the entire 2024 season. De Leon has a 7.13 ERA over his 72 innings in the bigs, and some major control problems contributed to his 6.93 ERA in 75 1/3 frames with Triple-A Worcester in 2025.
Jason Varitek To Return To Red Sox Coaching Staff
The Red Sox and Jason Varitek are in the final stages of a new multi-year contract for the 53-year-old to return to the team’s coaching staff, MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam reports. The official announcement “is expected soon,” McAdam writes, and chances are the two sides may just be waiting until either the end of the World Series or until an off-day. The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes that Varitek has agreed to a new deal.
Varitek has been part of Boston’s coaching staff in each of the last five seasons, all as a game-planning coordinator. He was also a catching coach from 2021-24, but his job title was switched to game-planning and run prevention coach prior to this season. It isn’t known if he’ll return to that job or if Varitek might have some different responsibilities in 2026, but whatever the capacity, he’ll be back as a trusted member of Alex Cora’s staff.
Most coaches generally operate on year-to-year contracts, but Varitek’s previous deal was a three-year pact covering the 2023-25 seasons. McAdam speculates that Varitek’s forthcoming contract could be a two-year deal, in order to line Varitek up with Cora (whose contract is up after the 2027 campaign).
Acquired from the Mariners in a trade at the 1997 deadline, Varitek spent his entire 15-season playing career in a Red Sox uniform, and he has remained with the organization since he retired from on-field action. He worked as a special assistant within the front office before also taking on a roving catching instructor role in 2020, prior to his formal designation as part of the big league coaching staff in 2021.
Red Sox Promote John Soteropulos to Assistant Hitting Coach
The Red Sox have made John Soteropulos an assistant hitting coach, reports Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Soteropulos had been a minor-league hitting coordinator since 2023. Before joining Boston’s organization, Soteropulos was a trainer at Driveline Baseball.
McCaffrey adds that Soteropulos worked with minor leaguers on boosting bat speed and exit velocity during his time as a hitting coordinator. That group included top prospects Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer. The trio debuted in 2025, with varying results.
Campbell made the team out of camp. He hit .301 through April, then fell off a cliff in May, batting .134. He continued to scuffle into June and found himself back in the minors. Mayer got the call at the end of May. He showed big power, though it came with strikeout issues. A wrist injury ended his season in July. Anthony had by far the most success of the bunch. He joined the big-league club a few weeks after Mayer. Anthony shook off a slow June to put up a massive July and August. He posted a .920 OPS and a 156 wRC+ from the beginning of July through the first week of September, when he injured his oblique. The strain would end his season.
Boston’s hitting coach is Pete Fatse. He joined the team as an assistant hitting coach in 2020, before being promoted to the head job in 2022. Dillon Lawson is also joining the staff as an assistant hitting coach. He served as hitting coach for the Yankees from 2022 until midway through 2023.
Add Soteropulos to the growing list of employees to make the jump from Driveline to big-league organizations. Driveline founder Kyle Boddy spent time with multiple teams, including as a consultant with the Red Sox. Eric Jagers, the company’s former Manager of Technical Development, is currently the Vice President of Pitching for the Mets. Sam Briend, who led Driveline’s pitching development program in Seattle, has been the Yankees’ Senior Director of Pitching since 2019.
Rob Refsnyder Plans To Play In 2026
Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder flirted with retirement last offseason, but ultimately decided to continue his career in Boston. Now that he’s headed into his age-35 season, however, it appears he’s less conflicted about his future. Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reported yesterday that Refsnyder intends to continue his playing career in 2026, and he’s already had “informal talks” with Boston about the possibility of a return.
It’s understandable that Refsnyder would want to keep going after the year he’s had. In 70 games for the Red Sox, Refsnyder raked to the tune of a .269/.354/.484 slash line across 209 plate appearances. That was more or less a repeat of his excellent 2024, and he now enters free agency coming off a two year stretch where he’s slashed .278/.357/.476 in 163 games (516 plate appearances). In that time, he’s clubbed 20 homers with 28 doubles with a 25.6% strikeout rate against a 10.1% walk rate.
That’s incredibly strong production for a bench player, though it should be noted he sports a massive platoon split. Refsnyder is hitting .302/.396/.554 (160 wRC+) against southpaws over the past two years, but in that same time he’s hit a mediocre .250/.310/.387 (94 wRC+) against right-handed pitchers. That production against righties dropped to just .212/.268/.348 (67 wRC+) this season, leaving him has a far less viable bat against same-handed pitching. Even with that step back against right-handers this year, Refsnyder should enjoy a strong market by bench bat standards.
It’s not completely out of the question that a club could see Refsnyder as a candidate for a larger role, given his overall production the past two seasons and solid numbers against same-handed pitching in 2024. His more significant platoon split in 2025 likely puts a damper on those efforts, however, and he still figures to fit best on a team where he can be used as a part-time player. The Red Sox still make plenty of sense for his services given their heavily left-handed outfield mix. Having Refsnyder in the fold to complement Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, and Masataka Yoshida would go a long way to keeping Boston’s offense balanced next year.
There are a handful of other teams Refsnyder could make plenty of sense for as well, however. The Diamondbacks traded Randal Grichuk away at the deadline but have an outfield and DH mix that’s similarly heavy on lefties with Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy, and Pavin Smith all playing roles. The Cubs could view Refsnyder as an upgrade over Justin Turner who could be deployed as a platoon partner for Moises Ballesteros or Owen Caissie in the event that one of those lefty-swinging rookies takes over Kyle Tucker‘s spot in the Chicago lineup. The Royals and Guardians both struggled to get production out of their outfielders this year and could view Refsnyder as a way to significantly improve their offense without breaking the bank.