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Red Sox are in top 10 of The Athletic’s power rankings ahead of 2026 MLB season
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- Red Sox are in top 10 of The Athletic’s power rankings ahead of 2026 MLB season
While the Red Sox didn’t add a bonafide power bat to their lineup or a left-handed reliever to their bullpen, there’s still plenty of optimism surrounding the team.
Ahead of Boston ’s first game of 2026 on Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds , The Athletic released its final power rankings .
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The Red Sox came in at No. 8 with a 60% chance to make the postseason.
“There’s no doubting that the Red Sox have a lot of good players; it’s worth wondering whether they can all be on the field at the same time,” Tim Britton wrote . “Boston is flush with outfielders and starting pitchers; the latter is where it leaned in this winter in acquiring Ranger Suárez , Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo to go along with one of the deeper groups of near-ready prospects in the sport. The infield, though, sure misses that one extra bat, and the bottom half of the lineup will pivot on whether strong offensive stretches by the likes of Caleb Durbin , Ceddanne Rafaela and Carlos Narváez can be replicated in 2026.”
The Red Sox have Roman Anthony , Jarren Duran , Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela as outfielders. They will likely cycle the four through the designated hitter spot to keep them all in the field and in the lineup. There’s also Masataka Yoshida , who had a strong showing for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic.
The infield consists of Willson Contreras , Caleb Durbin, Trevor Story and Marcelo Mayer .
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Manager Alex Cora is confident in his lineup. He believes that some players will not only hit 20 home runs this season , but highlighted Abreu as someone who will hit 30.
The starting rotation has a lot of hype around it with Garrett Crochet , Brayan Bello , Suárez, Gray and Connelly Early as the first five game’s starters. Oviedo will begin the season out of the bullpen, but he, along with Payton Tolle who was optioned to Triple-A Worcester, are ready to contribute as starters whenever they’re called upon.
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