With the 2025 Red Sox season over and an important offseason approaching, it's time to break down each part of the Red Sox' roster entering what should be a busy winter for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. All week, we'll be running a five-part series analyzing each part of Boston's roster. Next up is a look at Boston's infield entering 2026:
WHERE DO THINGS STAND?
With way, way more questions than answers. There's a chance the Red Sox have a pretty similar infield mix as they did in 2025. There's also a chance they have new starters at all four spots. Everything in between is an option, too.
In 2025, the left side was stabilized by third baseman Alex Bregman and shortstop Trevor Story while second base was once again a revolving door (Kristian Campbell, David Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez, Ceddanne Rafaela, Nick Sogard and Marcelo Mayer) and Triston Casas' early season-ending injury led the group of Gonzalez, Abraham Toro and Nathaniel Lowe to split first base. Mayer filled in admirably at third for Bregman and shined defensively as a rookie but never got a start at shortstop, his natural position. Now, things are very much in flux.
Bregman plans to opt out, leaving third base open. Story has an opt-out clause in his contract and could choose to join Bregman on the free agent market shortly after the World Series. One of those players leaving the Red Sox would clearly open up a spot for Mayer, whose positional future is a question mark, as is his level of injury risk after another shortened season.
*** READ Part I of our roster analysis series, on the starting rotation, here. ***
At second base, the Red Sox have a handful of options who remain under control. Mayer could play there and some other fill-in options -- Gonzalez, Hamilton and Sogard, mainly -- are on the roster as depth pieces. The big wild card in all of this is Campbell, who began the year as the Opening Day second baseman and never returned to the majors after being optioned in mid-June. The Red Sox like him as an outfielder but his clearest path to the roster remains at second. Unfortunately for Campbell, the defensive strides just weren't there at Triple-A to force himself back into that spot.
Casas isn't being guaranteed anything when it comes to the starting job but, barring a trade, he'll be in the mix to retake first base in what could be a make-or-break year for him after two injury-ravaged campaigns. Gonzalez is a phenomenal platoon player who is better at first than second and should return. Lowe is technically under control as an arbitration-eligible player but would need to be paid something in the $13.5 million range for 2026, which is a massive overpay. Look for the Red Sox to cut him loose in an effort to test free agency; that could lead to a cheaper deal as a fallback option.
Nate Eaton, who mostly played outfield down the stretch, can also mix into the infield and is a depth option. Vaughn Grissom remains on the 40-man roster but is one of the more clear change-of-scenery candidates in baseball after not cracking the big league roster once in 2025.
WHAT'S COMING FROM THE MINORS?
The Red Sox had their top two infield prospects debut in 2025, with Campbell (Opening Day) and Mayer (May) each getting their first taste of big league action. That neither player was able to contribute down the stretch means they both missed a chance to solidify themselves at a certain position. They will both enter spring training fighting for spots, though Mayer is certainly likely to make the team (if not traded). The question is where he plays.
Boston's top position player prospect is shortstop Franklin Arias, who will likely start 2026 at Double-A after a 10-game cameo there to end the year and is a clear trade candidate as Boston looks to change its roster elsewhere. Former first rounder Mikey Romero is at Triple-A and should get a big league camp invite. Yoeilin Cespedes, Dorian Soto and Henry Godbout are further away from contributing.
Arias is the only blue-chipper in the group of guys who haven't debuted yet, but Campbell and Mayer remain prospects, in a sense. It's a group that has thinned out significantly, due to promotions and trades, in recent years.
WHICH MOVES MIGHT THE RED SOX MAKE?
The possibilities are pretty close to endless here. It's reasonable, as of this writing, to envision the Red Sox making a significant change at all four infield positions, so we'll go around the horn.
A year ago, third base was Rafael Devers' position and Alex Bregman was a pipe dream. My, how things have changed. Now, four months after dealing Devers in a franchise-altering trade, the Red Sox have to figure out their long-term plan at third base again. They will obviously be in the mix to re-sign Bregman, but he wants a big combination of years and money and another club (Detroit? Cubs? Seattle?) may get silly and get to a place the Red Sox won't. If he departs, Mayer is the likely choice to take over at third after showing he can do it during Bregman's time on the injured list this summer. Outside of Bregman, a very uninspiring free agent class is led by Eugenio Suárez. He'd help solve Boston's power problems but would be a defensive downgrade.
As of mid-September, Red Sox decision-makers expected Story, who has two years and $55 million left on his contract, to opt in. There's a chance he'd make more than that on the open market but there's also a feeling that he feels loyalty -- and appreciation -- toward the Red Sox after missing most of the first three years of the deal. If he opts in, expect him back at shortstop, barring a surprising move (an out-of-nowhere Bo Bichette pursuit?) that would move Story to second base, where he played in 2022. The Red Sox can also void Story's opt-out by tacking on an extra year to his deal.
A Story opt-out, which can't be totally dismissed as possible, would throw the entire offseason off course. The Sox would then have two gigantic holes on the left side of their infield and a lot of work to do with the lineup. Clarity on that situation will be due five days after the World Series.
Second base, as it has been for nearly a decade, remains completely unsettled. The Red Sox, for a variety of reasons, are completely incapable of finding a long-term solution there. In 2025, they hoped it would be Campbell. That door isn't closed but he's not Option A, either.
Retaining Bregman and Story would allow the Red Sox to start Mayer at second base and be the cleanest fit across the board. Hamilton, Gonzalez and Sogard aren't full-time players and Rafaela is going to stick in center field, ruling him out as an option. The Red Sox will almost certainly attack the other infield positions first, then figure out how second base shakes out. On the free agent market, Gleyber Torres is available but not a good defender. Willi Castro is uninspiring. Jorge Polanco might be a fit but isn't a Gold Glove candidate.
First base is a clear upgrade spot for the Red Sox, but that, too, is an imperfect situation because Casas is just 25 (26 in January) and still has a high ceiling. It would be tough to trade Casas coming off a catastrophic knee injury, but anything's possible. Pete Alonso is obviously the top free agent fit here and would provide lots of power, but he makes the infield defense worse. Josh Naylor, Ryan O'Hearn, Luis Arraez and Rhys Hoskins are also available as well as, most likely, Lowe. Japanese infielder Kazuma Okamoto will be posted, too.
The Red Sox will need to solve their infield situation from left to right. First on the agenda is figuring out the likelihood of Bregman and/or Story coming back. Next up is where Mayer fits into all of this. First base, a clear upgrade area, is something of a separate issue but one just as pressing.
For Breslow, the challenge is not just finding power and improving the lineup, but also upgrading the infield defense, which still lacked in 2025 despite Bregman and Story stabilizing the left side. It's going to take more than retaining those two veterans to do so.
*** READ Part II of our roster analysis series, on the bullpen, here. ***
FINAL ANALYSIS / PREDICTION:
The infield is in such flux that it's almost impossible to predict the four men who will be lined up on the dirt on Opening Day in Cincinnati. The picture will become much clearer in a couple weeks once Bregman and Story's opt-out dates are finalized.
The gut feeling here is that Story will opt in, solving the shortstop question. The Red Sox will make plays for first basemen who can mash, though Alonso fits them better as a designated hitter because of his defensive issues. Bregman's return is not a fait accompli and his market is going to be crowded with teams looking for a winner who can put them over the edge. Mayer will likely get a chance to start at one of three positions depending on who stays and who goes.
The prediction here is that the Red Sox retain Story, but not Bregman, who signs a big deal elsewhere. That forces Boston to be even more aggressive in its other pursuits, including for a bat, likely one that can play first base. Arraez is an interesting name to watch here because he can play first and second and makes more contact than anyone else in the big leagues. Power and defense, of course, are not his calling cards, but he'd help a team with strikeout issues.
Alonso makes sense from a lineup perspective but someone like Kyle Schwarber, as a true DH, fits the Red Sox better and allows the door to be open for Casas' return. Suarez would be a great fit at Fenway, too. The Red Sox might find it easier to find short-term solutions when it comes to their infield next year while figuring out where Mayer fits best.