The 2026 Boston Red Sox gave the fanbase a lot of fun moments throughout the summer, but the magical campaign is over.
For the second straight year, Boston was knocked out of the playoffs in the wild-card round by the New York Yankees on the road. For much of Wednesday’s Game 2 contest, the Red Sox were right there with New York. But the contest had a similar feel to Game 1. Sonny Gray gave Boston 4 2/3 solid innings — like Payton Tolle the night before — but the bullpen couldn’t keep it together.
Now, the Red Sox’s season is over and Boston fans will have to wait until March — at the earliest — to see this club in action again. With that being said, it’s not going to be the exact same team when the 2027 season rolls around. Here are four players who are the most likely to not be back next season.
Jarren Duran
At this point, it has been several years that Duran has been talked about as a potential trade chip. Boston entered the 2026 season with an outfield logjam. Injuries changed things throughout the season. With Roman Anthony missing most of the season, Duran had a consistent opportunity and put together the most difficult offensive season of his career. Anthony is up in the air after getting hurt in the Yankees series, which could be a reason to keep Duran. But this offseason seems like the time to make a move.
Sonny Gray
This isn’t because of Gray’s performance at all. In fact, in a perfect world, Gray would be back in 2027. But he has a $30 million mutual option that surely won’t be picked up. Also, Gray isn’t guaranteed to pitch beyond the 2026 campaign. If he does continue his career, it would be awesome if it were in Boston. But right now, the odds aren’t great.
Patrick Sandoval
Sandoval signed a two-year deal with Boston and will be a free agent after the season. He didn’t pitch much in a Boston uniform, but he was a depth arm down the stretch this season. The Red Sox have a lot of hurlers. There may not be room for Sandoval.
Connor Wong
It wouldn’t hurt to keep Wong around as the backup moving forward. Adley Rutschman is the starter and main guy moving forward. Wong is solid in a depth role. But the catcher position was talked about as a spot Boston wanted to upgrade for a while before Rutschman came to town. Last spring, it wasn’t even a guarantee that Wong would make the roster. A Rutschman-Wong tandem is good. But it also wouldn’t be shocking to see Boston shop for another backup.
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