Boston Red Sox (Image Credits: Imagn)

'You Gotta Score Runs Too' – MLB Insider Casts Doubt On Red Sox’s Offense Amid Incomplete Offseason

Originally posted on Total Pro Sports
By Paranjoy Goswami | Last updated Jan 31, 2026 9:19 AM ET

Bolstering the offense was the primary concern for the Boston Red Sox after trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants last year. But they failed in their bids to land Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, and they also lost Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox responded by strengthening their rotation with the addition of Ranger Suárez.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic believes offensive production will still be an issue for the Boston Red Sox, even though they are a better team now from a defensive standpoint. Although they have tremendous depth in their starting rotation, the Red Sox front office may still need to add a power bat to the lineup to score enough runs to be a contender once again.

“They’re missing one piece, and it’s an important piece. Because, offensively, they’re a little bit challenged right now, at least from an outside perspective,” Rosenthal said on the Foul Territory podcast this Friday.

The Red Sox are willing to move one of their lesser pitchers to fill needs elsewhere on the roster, says @Ken_Rosenthal.

"Who are we talking about? Brayan Bello is one, Jordan Hicks is another, maybe Patrick Sandoval coming off Tommy John surgery." pic.twitter.com/dr6WJ6NUAa
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) January 30, 2026

“Maybe they feel, ‘We’ve got run prevention figured out better with the pitching staff we’ve assembled.” Certainly they’ve got a very deep rotation—perhaps too deep. But they’ve got score runs, too.”

Last year, the Red Sox scored the third-highest amount of runs in the American League with 786. However, they were barely league average with 186 home runs.

Red Sox Looking to Add an Infielder, Says MLB Insider

Marcelo Mayer (Image Credits: Imagn)

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal claims the Boston Red Sox are keen on adding another infielder to their roster. He stated they would prefer a second baseman who bats from the right-hand side of the plate so they can shift Marcelo Mayer to the third baseman position.

“They definitely want to add an infielder. And probably a right-handed hitting infielder. Preference seems to be second base because they want Marcelo Mayer at third,” he told the Foul Territory podcast.

According to @JonHeyman, the Red Sox could platoon Romy Gonzalez and David Hamilton at 2B and play Marcelo Mayer at 3B.

They’ve talked trades but nothing has come together to this point. pic.twitter.com/r8wal01jYi
— Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) January 30, 2026

Before trading him to the West Coast, the Red Sox moved Rafael Devers to a DH role at the start of the 2025 season to accommodate Alex Bregman at third base. They called up Mayer from the minors to take over from Bregman after the latter landed on the IL with a quad strain in May. The 23-year-old suffered a wrist injury in August that curtailed his rookie campaign prematurely.

This article first appeared on Total Pro Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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