Red Sox Ramping Up for 2026 Season, Positioning to Be Sleeper Success in AL East

Despite being in the same division as the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox are preparing to prove they will be a force in the American League East in 2026.

When it comes to attracting and retaining players, either through free agency or trade, Red Sox ownership could spend at the same rate as the richest clubs in baseball. In 2025, the Yankees, at $293 million-plus, had the third-highest team payroll. Toronto came within one game of claiming the World Series championship last October and was third in roster pay at $239 million-plus.

Boston is spending significantly less than their division rivals, including New York, less than $100 million. Just five victories separated the three clubs. With the Red Sox’s Opening Day coming up two weeks from Thursday in Cincinnati, manager Alex Cora and his staff are still putting final touches on who is going to play where and when.

With 15 players participating in the World Baseball Classic, the Red Sox lineup for the season-opener against the Reds is on hold. A total of 32 Grapefruit League exhibition games scheduled in 33 days are affording Boston’s management a closer look at players who, in all likelihood, will start their season in the minor leagues.

The extra, longer look given to the next wave of Red Sox players to be called up first when injuries occur during the season is a manager’s gift.

While the Yankees have pitching ace Gerrit Cole returning before the all-star break and home run kings Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton leading their offense, and Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. being the offensive engine that moves the Blue Jays forward, the Red Sox have a roster that could match both rivals.

As of now, there are 13 members of the Red Sox 40-man roster who weren’t with the organization in 2025, and 19 of the 66 players in spring training with the Red Sox have not one day of MLB service time.

Management has been busy since last fall acquiring talent they hope will make them at least five games better than their 2025 record of 89–73.

“He’s a good kid, with a good fastball, and gets good extension,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told The Epoch Times on March 8, speaking of pitching prospect Jake Bennett prior to Boston’s game with the Pittsburgh Pirates. “He keeps getting better and is someone we’re intrigued by.”

With the WBC taking place, he is adamant that players move on to the Red Sox minor League camp to get them ready for the season. Some players believed to be on the bubble of making the 26-man MLB roster or being ticketed to Triple-A in Worcester, Massachusetts, or Double-A in Portland, Maine, are benefiting from Cora’s extra attention.

Marcelo Mayer, who served a 44-game audition last season in Boston, was tried at shortstop, third base, and second base. Although not guaranteed a Red Sox roster spot at this time, Cora likes what he has seen this spring from the prospect.

“He’s been outstanding for us at third base,” says Cora of Mayer, Boston’s top amateur draft selection in 2021. “I think he’s doing a good job, but this doesn’t mean he’ll break camp with us. We are happy with his progression.”

To complement the youngsters looking to be part of the club that gives the Yankees and Blue Jays difficulties in the division, Boston has acquired veteran leadership to hopefully balance out their lineup. Right-handed starting pitcher Sonny Gray was traded for in November from the St. Louis Cardinals.

Another starting righty pitcher, Johan Oviedo, in December, came to Boston in a five-player trade with the Pirates. Free agent left-handed starting hurler Ranger Suarez was inked to a five-year contract. Infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa is another veteran obtained through free agency. Catcher and first baseman Wilson Contreras, like Gray, also comes over to Boston from the Cardinals.

Add Aroldis Chapman, 37, still among the most successful and feared closers in the game today, with Rawlings Gold Glove winners Wilyer Abreu (right field) and Ceddanne Rafaela (center field), and Boston has a nucleus that could be in line to win their division.

Among the optimism felt at Red Sox camp at their Fenway South complex in Fort Myers, Florida, is infielder and outfielder Romy Gonzalez’s injured left shoulder. His doctor’s visit on Wednesday in Alabama will determine if surgery is needed.

Since the winter, from the ground up, the Red Sox management team has been steadily molding their roster to be positioned for greater success than last season, when Boston was eliminated in the postseason by the Yankees.

Time is on their side to tweak lineup changes and build the confidence of their young players so that they believe, just as New York and Toronto do, that they have every right to claim the American League East flag, come September.