An 11-7 victory over the New York Yankees caps off a much-needed series win from a scuffling Boston Red Sox team. The 2-1 series win puts the Sox at 32-35 on the season, 8.5 games behind in the division and 4 games out of the Wildcard. Despite successful offseason additions of Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet, this talented roster has put together a lackluster season up to this point, but could that change following this series win against the division leaders?
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, it’s been 67 games of the same for the struggling ball club. Inconsistent offense, poor starting pitching, an up-and-down bullpen, and poor defense have trumped the Red Sox’s competitive aspirations throughout the first third of the season. Alex Cora’s Red Sox teams have faced this same set of issues every year since 2021, regardless of roster construction.
Prior to this season, many fans and media personalities pointed the blame at the Red Sox ownership, whose reluctance to hand out long-term contracts was seen as a sign of a small-market organization, despite that not being the case. While that point held merit, Red Sox Owner John Henry proved otherwise by handing out a 3-year 120 million contract to Alex Bregman and extending newly acquired left-hander Garrett Crochet to a 6-year 170 million deal. There’s no question that the Red Sox have enough talent on the field to compete with any team in the American League, but a lot has to change for that to be the case.
While the Red Sox offense has been far from the biggest problem with the 2025 team, arguably one of the best hitters in the organization is sitting in Triple-A for Boston. Baseball America’s #1 prospect, Roman Anthony, has exceeded expectations in his minor league career and has shown every indicator that he is ready for the next level. With historic exit velocities, great bat speed, exceptional barrel rate, and dominant splits, many fans have questioned why Anthony hasn’t been called up to the major leagues.
While it isn’t what Red Sox fans want to hear, it’s most likely a manipulation of service time. If Anthony were to win Rookie of the Year, he would gain a full year of MLB service, setting the stage for him to be a free agent a year earlier than expected. Prolonging his MLB debut could prevent this from being the case, guaranteeing an additional year to his Red Sox tenure.
When Anthony is eventually called up, there will be serious questions about where he’ll play with Boston’s left-handed log jam in the outfield. Many speculate that Trevor Story’s time with Boston could come to a close sooner than later, moving gold-glove caliber outfielder Ceddane Rafaela to the infield in a platoon role. While this wouldn’t be a perfect long-term solution, finding at-bats for Anthony will be a priority for the Red Sox.
In what felt like a must-win series in their first meeting with the Yankees, Boston’s bats came alive with a masterful display of situational hitting, a rarity for the 2025 team. With 27 total runs in the three-game series, Boston received great contributions from Trevor Story and Kristian Campbell, both amid extended slumps. These contributions from the bottom of the order are as significant as ever with the Sox sliding in the standings following the absence of Alex Bregman.
Unfortunately, the starting pitching continued to struggle, but that could change as they faced one of the best offenses in baseball. The story of the season has been Boston’s inability to match good offense with good pitching at the same time, and that will have to happen for a potential turnaround.
Ultimately, the Red Sox came away with an important series win, but they were far from perfect. Despite encouraging signs from the bats in each game, a continued display of poor defense, undisciplined base-running, and mediocre starting pitching plagued the Red Sox throughout the series. Significant changes in team discipline and the approach from starters will be vital to the success of this team going forward. Luckily for Boston, they have the talent to turn this season around, and the #1 prospect in baseball is knocking at the door.
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