Good morning and welcome to top-of-the-line days of the yr. Say it with me: pitchers and catchers.
Pink Sox spring coaching formally opens right now and, with yesterday’s Caleb Durbin trade, Craig Breslow is most likely executed making any vital transactions.
So with the offseason primarily closed, let’s check out how the Pink Sox group has modified because the Cam Schlittler Recreation.
Checklist organized by 2025 bWAR:
- Alex Bregman, 3.5
- Lucas Giolito, 2.1
- Rob Refsnyder, 1.2
- David Hamilton, 1.0
- Chris Murphy, 0.5
- Steven Matz, 0.5
- Hunter Dobbins, 0.4
- Nathaniel Lowe, 0.4
- Justin Wilson, 0.3
- Luis Guerrero, 0.1
- Brennan Bernardino, 0.0
- Vaughn Grissom (N/A)
- Cooper Criswell, -0.1
- Josh Winckowski, -0.1
- Richard Fitts, -0.3
- Liam Hendriks, -0.3
- Dustin Could, -0.6
- Jordan Hicks, -1.8
Checklist organized by 2025 bWAR:
- Ranger Suárez, 4.7
- Caleb Durbin, 2.8
- Willson Contreras, 2.5
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa, 1.7
- Sonny Grey, 1.4
- Johan Oviedo, 0.8
- Andruw Monasterio, 0.8
- Seth Martinez, 0.0
- Tsung-Che Cheng, 0.0
- Brendan Rogers, 0.0
- Anthony Seigler, -0.1
- Mickey Gasper, -0.3
- Vinny Capra (-0.6)
- Kyle Keller, N/A (NPB)
Notable Minor League Departures
Checklist organized by highest SoxProspects.com rating:
- Luis Perales (3)
- Jhostynxon Garcia (5)
- Shane Drohan (5)
- Brandon Clarke (6)
- David Sandlin (8)
- Yhoiker Fajardo (8)
- Kyle Harrison (N/A)
- Jedixson Paez (16)
- Jesus Travieso (19)
- Alex Hoppe (28)
- Justin Riemer (30)
- Blake Aita (33)
Notable Minor League Additions
Checklist organized by present SoxProspects.com rating:
- Jake Bennett (6)
- Ryan Watson (20)
- Tyler Samaniego (28)
- Gage Ziehl (3o)
- Adonys Guzman (31)
- Luke Heyman (32)
- Isaiah Jackson (50)
- Nate Baez (N/A)
- Matt Fraizer (N/A)
- Braiden Ward (N/A)
- 67th draft choose, 2026
So what conclusions can we draw from this. I’ll take a stab at a pair.
First, I feel it’s inarguable that, barring accidents, the roster that can open the 2026 season is extra proficient than the roster that closed out 2025. Craig Breslow has assembled arguably the one finest pitching employees in baseball — one that isn’t solely robust on the prime of the rotation, however deep, with a few high-end prospects who will begin the season in Worcester. And whereas the lineup might not carry out in addition to it did in 2025 with out Alex Bregman and a half a yr of Rafael Devers, Willson Contreras is a stable addition whereas Caleb Durbin seems to be to be a great guess to be league common.
However having stated that, the roster stays unbalanced and I’m very apprehensive concerning the lineup generally. There’s a variety of stress being placed on younger gamers to step up. Roman Anthony most likely must carry out at an All-Star degree in his first full season for this Pink Sox staff to go anyplace (I feel he can and can). Whereas Marcelo Mayer, Ceddanne Rafaela, Carlos Narvaez, Triston Casas, and Caleb Durbin — all of whom have vital query marks — all must contribute. It’s straightforward to easily say that Anthony will substitute Devers manufacturing and Contreras will substitute Bregman’s. And maybe that can occur. However Contreras comes with vital danger of age-related decline (as does Trevor Story) and we can’t rely on linear development from Anthony. The lineup may probably be anemic towards left-handed pitching, whereas an unlucky harm or some stalled improvement may make issues ugly within the infield.
Talking of age-related decline, can we rely on Aroldis Chapman to as soon as once more be top-of-the-line relievers in baseball? Craig Breslow is actually doing simply that, as he has barely touched the bullpen.
And, in fact, we are able to’t ignore the minor leagues. Breslow has expended rather a lot of prospect capital over the previous two years, notably on the place participant facet, the place you can argue that Franklin Arias is now the one notable prospect in the complete system.
All of this brings me to my conclusion: Craig Breslow improved the Pink Sox within the 2025-26 offseason, however he didn’t enhance the staff sufficient. With an rising famous person in Roman Anthony, one of many sport’s highest starters in Garrett Crochet, a deep rotation, and a core of low cost, thrilling younger gamers, the Pink Sox needs to be ready to push for ~98 wins and a stress-free experience to the postseason. As an alternative, I feel they’re most likely solely a pair wins higher than final yr’s staff and, with a couple of dangerous breaks, may miss the postseason completely.
For these causes, I’ll give him a stable B. What’s your grade?
