While the Boston Red Sox's front office - and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow specifically - took a lot of heat early on this season, they have built a roster that can contend for a World Series title this season.
Roman Anthony and Trevor Story are back and have looked great since coming back into the lineup. Willson Contreras is on the Injured List, but he has indicated that he's going to be alright. Garrett Crochet is on the mend and was expected to toss a bullpen on Friday. This club is loaded and getting better. On Thursday, Adley Rutschman returned to the lineup and bashed two homers, for example.
Between now and the end of the season, the most important thing for Boston is going to be getting as close to healthy as possible before the regular season wraps up. The talent is there. We've seen what this team can do. After losing the series against the New York Yankees , it's going to be really hard for Boston to move up in the Wild Card race. The club is significantly more likely than not going to finish the season with the No. 2 Wild Card spot , barring a long winning streak or long losing streak.
Jul 20, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (50) throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the New York Mets at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Boston needs to get healthy. The rotation is specifically something to watch. We've already seen the club give Sonny Gray extra time to try to keep him fresh . The same thing happened with Jake Bennett. Payton Tolle has set a career high in innings pitched. Patrick Sandoval has tossed 49 innings, which is his highest mark since 2024. Ranger Surez also hasn't looked like himself recently. The rotation is great, but Boston does have innings questions and needs to keep these guys fresh.
One way the club could do so arguably would be to go out and sign a depth hurler to help down the stretch. The guy Boston should go after is former All-Star and two-time World Series champion Lance McCullers Jr.
McCullers has a 6.55 ERA in 10 total outings this season with the Houston Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers . He kicked off the season with the Astros and had some rust. He missed the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons and then pitched in just 16 games last year. He then got hurt and traded to the Brewers.
With Milwaukee, he made two appearances out of the bullpen and had a 3.86 ERA in 4 2/3 innings pitched.
This is a guy who was great at one point. He has a 3.85 ERA in 156 total appearances in the majors. His best season was in 2021 when he had a 3.16 ERA in 28 starts with Houston. It would be a bold move because of his struggles earlier in the season and the time of year, but Boston needs depth.
For the Red Sox, they need innings. McCullers could help in that. He's arguably the best hurler available right now. Why not make a move? He can help take the load off and likely wouldn't cost much more than a minor league deal. Arguably, the time is now to add more depth.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/red-sox/onsi as Bold Red Sox Free Agency Pitch to Sign Former Astros All-Star .
