Red Sox offseason outlook shown as an empty baseball diamond at dusk in navy and red tones

Red Sox Offseason 2026: Anthony, Lockout and Needs

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Red Sox offseason planning has started earlier than usual after Boston’s 2026 season ended on Sept. 30 with a 9-2 loss to the Yankees in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series. The sweep, 9-0 and 9-2, came after an 87-win season and extended the team’s streak without a postseason game at Fenway Park to five years, per MLB.com and the Boston Globe.

How the Red Sox Season Ended

According to MLB.com, the Red Sox were outscored 18-2 in the series and outhit 26-7, the most lopsided result in the five-year history of the Wild Card round, the Globe reported. Yankees starter Cam Schlittler, a Walpole, Massachusetts native, threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in Game 1. In Game 2, Willson Contreras hit a solo homer to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the sixth before New York scored six runs in the bottom of the inning.

The finish stung because of how the year unfolded. Boston started 32-46 and then went 32-5 from June 25 through Aug. 8, a run the Globe called historically improbable. We covered the series as it happened in our Game 1 report and previewed it in our Wild Card series preview.

Roman Anthony Wrist Injury Update

Outfielder Roman Anthony left Game 1 after two at-bats with soreness in the same right hand and wrist that kept him out for nearly four months, MLB.com reported, and he was removed from the series roster after imaging showed additional strains. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said afterward that Anthony needs rest rather than surgery, according to the Globe and MLB Trade Rumors. Our earlier coverage of the injury picture is in our Contreras hand-injury report.

Red Sox Lockout Outlook

The league’s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, and the Globe reported that a lockout is widely expected. During a lockout, teams cannot communicate with players about baseball matters, and NESN noted that could keep Anthony from using the team’s Fort Myers facility. That makes November the key window for Boston to set a recovery plan with Anthony and his representatives before communication stops.

Red Sox Offseason Questions

NBC Sports Boston said injuries were a prominent theme of the team’s year-end press conference. The Globe wrote that Breslow will face questions about the team’s needs before the expected freeze, and Boston Sports Journal wrote that manager Chad Tracy is likely to face criticism for how he handled the starters and bullpen in the series. The Sox were last in the majors in September in runs per game at 3.0, according to MLB.com, which makes offense the obvious area of focus.

Because a lockout would likely slow or freeze free agency and trades, decisions made in the next several weeks could matter more than usual. We’ll track roster moves, injury updates and bargaining news on our Boston sports page.

The 2026 season still produced real positives. Boston won 87 games, and reached the postseason as the No. 5 seed on the strength of that 32-5 stretch, according to the Globe. The problem was the finish: MLB.com reported that the Red Sox were last in the majors in runs per game, at 3.0, across their 24 games in September.

There is also a calendar issue. With the CBA expiring Dec. 1, Boston has about two months to set rehab plans and make roster decisions before a work stoppage could limit communication with players, per the Globe and NESN reporting above.

Bottom line: the Red Sox have about seven weeks until the CBA deadline. The first priorities to watch are Anthony’s recovery plan and any move to add lineup help before talks stall.

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