2025 MLB Season Recap: Boston Red Sox

The Pitching

The Good

The Red Sox found their ace in the offseason, as Boston traded away four premium prospects for Garrett Crochet. In his second full season as a starter, the 26-year-old blew away his numbers from 2024.

Crochet struck out 255 batters over 205.1 IP, the most across Major League Baseball. The lefty finished second in K/9 (11.2). But more impressively, Crochet was able to get outs with all five pitches. Yes, the strikeout played a big role. But at the same time, Crochet was able to limit well-hit contact (7.3% Barrel%), finish in the top 20% of the league in ground balls, and induce chases.

Cumulative numbers from the 2025 season.

The 26-year-old was a standout on what was a very good overall pitching staff. The Red Sox’s rotation was short-handed at times this season, thanks to injuries. However, Boston’s rotation had a “big three” of formidable starters: Crochet, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito.

The 26-year-old Bello had arguably the best season of his career. Bello set a career-best mark for opposing wOBA (.297), significantly limiting well-hit contact and working hitters inside with a sinker. But on top of that. Bello continued to mix up and down, either with the changeup and the four-seamer, to keep hitters off balance.

Bello weaned himself off the four-seamer early on in 2024 to focus on three pitches, which didn’t work. This year, Bello was more of a complete pitcher, working with that four-seamer again. He also used a new cutter for the first time in his MLB career.

Giolito, meanwhile, returned to an MLB mound for the first time since 2023. The right-hander signed a two-year deal in the winter of 2023, important since Giolito was going to miss all of 2024 due to injury.

The 31-year-old Giolito had trouble with walks in 2025. However, his numbers weren’t too bad overall. After a couple of bad starts early on in the year, Giolito took off in June; from June 10 onward, the 31-year-old posted a 2.51 ERA (3.97 FIP) with 94 strikeouts over 111 frames.

Boston’s bullpen, meanwhile, was one of the best in the game this past season.

The Red Sox seamlessly replaced Kenley Jansen with Aroldis Chapman, who will return to Boston in 2026 after he signed an in-season extension. Chapman struck out 85 over 61 frames, notched 32 saves, and earned an All-Star nod. The veteran lefty also came up large in the playoffs, as he put out a big fire in Game 1 of the Wild Card round to secure Boston’s lone postseason victory.

That bullpen was formidable, not just because of Chapman, but also because of how many different looks Alex Cora could give teams. Greg Weissert and Garrett Whitlock, both effective relievers, got things done in different ways. The same can be said for lefties Justin Wilson and Brennan Bernardino.

Moving on to the offense, it ranked in the top half of the Majors in several categories.

It helped that Boston received a resurgent season from Trevor Story, who had easily his best season as a Sox in 2025. Story hit 25 home runs, stole 31 bases, and looked exactly like the right-handed power hitter the organization wanted to see when he left Colorado.

Speaking of right-handed hitters, Alex Bregman (.356 wOBA) excelled in Boston. Bregman hit 18 home runs and 46 extra-base hits across 114 games, an injury-shortened campaign. The 31-year-old, on paper, looked to be a good fit in New England thanks to his pull-heavy tendencies and good range at third.

However, his 2025 season also brings questions about Bregman’s future. More specifically, where he will play in 2026.

Sticking with the offense, the Sox had seven players in double-digits in terms of home runs. However, not everything was rosy for Boston’s lineup.

The Bad

There was significant national attention on the Sox this season. It wasn’t just because Boston had a loud offseason. It also had to do with the “big three” prospects in the system: Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer.

All three made their Major League debuts in 2025, and each had varying results.

Anthony, arguably the best of the three, had the best rookie season. The 21-year-old Anthony slashed .292/.396/.463 with eight home runs across 303 plate appearances. However, most of his damage came within a six-week period in the summer. From July 15 through September 1, Anthony was top ten in the Majors (.415 OBP) and hit six home runs, along with 16 extra-base hits.

The young outfielder was one of three Sox (Jarren Duran, Trevor Story) to have five or more home runs and 16+ extra-base hits in that span.

An oblique strain that ended his regular season in September was a rare blimp on the radar for Anthony.

Campbell and Mayer had more complicated seasons. The former hit very well in March and April. However, Campbell had trouble from May 1 onward; he had trouble with Major League breaking balls and changeups/splitters, expanded the zone more, and struck out a lot (28.6% K%).

Despite the fact that he inked a multi-year extension in the spring, Campbell was sent down in June and didn’t return.

Mayer, meanwhile, also had trouble with MLB pitching. The former first-rounder came up in late May to replace an injured Alex Bregman and hit just .228/.272/.402 (.674 OPS) across 44 games. A wrist injury ended his season in July.

The rookie struggles from Campbell and Mayer came at an inopportune time for the Sox. For those who remember, Rafael Devers was traded in June to the Giants. While Boston had more regular-season success without Devers, it was hard to replace his offensive impact.

It didn’t help that Triston Casas‘ season-ending injury opened up a void at first base and further created a rift between Boston and Devers. Boston was able to get midseason help via Nathaniel Lowe, cut by the Nationals. However, the losses were noticeable, especially when Anthony went down.

As for the pitching, it couldn’t have been more of a stark campaign for Tanner Houck. Houck broke through as a starter in 2024, as he earned an All-Star nod. However, he was statistically one of the worst starters in baseball over the first third of the season. He ended May with the second-worst wOBA (min. 40 IP) among starters.

Houck leaned heavily on the three pitchers — sinker, splitter, and breaking ball — that got him through 2024. However, in this day of age, it’s much more beneficial to work with multiple fastballs, particularly something that can work up in the zone. Houck, who loves to pound low, had his issues to say, the least.

Unfortunately for the Sox, Houck won’t be an option for 2026 thanks to an elbow injury.

Houck wasn’t the only sore spot for the Sox rotation. Walker Buehler couldn’t manufacture the October magic he had in 2024 with the Dodgers. Kutter Crawford missed all of 2024, while Hunter Dobbins — a pleasant surprise for Boston — tore his ACL in the summer.

Early Projected Lineup for 2026

• C: Carlos Naravez
• 1B: Triston Casas
• 2B: Kristian Campbell
• 3B: Marcelo Mayer
• SS: Trevor Story
• OF: Jarren Duran (LF), Ceddanne Rafaela (CF), Wilyer Abreu (RF)
• DH: Roman Anthony
• SP: Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Patrick Sandoval, Connelly Early
• RP: Aroldis Chapman, Greg Weissert, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten, Brennan Bernardino, Chris Murphy, Zack Kelly, [FA Addition]

Boston will have some major decisions to make this offseason, to say the least.

One, can the Red Sox bring back Bregman? The New York Post reported earlier in October that Bregman is expected to opt out of the rest of his three-year deal. He was a great fit for the team. But at the same time, he’ll likely be looking for more term and security this winter.

Second, will Trevor Story cash in? Story, like Bregman, has an opt-out that can be triggered. Boston can negate the opt-out by adding in a seventh year but would that be something the Sox would pursue?

Third, the outfield logjam will need be addressed. Boston has Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Masataka Yoshida, Wilyer Abreu, and Roman Anthony on the roster. One of those players could be used to add something else to their team.

Duran, who has three more years of team control, would be an appealing target for other teams. He can hit, run, and be an exciting leadoff man for many MLB teams.