Biggest Takeaways from Boston Red Sox End of Season Press Conference

The Boston Red Sox season came to a disappointing end on Wednesday night as they were swept in the Wild Card round by the New York Yankees. Red Sox president Sam Kennedy, Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, and manager Chad Tracy met with the media at Fenway Park on Monday morning for the annual end-of-season press conference. 

Here's what you need to know about their one hour long media availability: 

All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras was among the most vocal players in the Red Sox clubhouse after Wednesday's defeat. Contreras seemed to point to Boston being too reliant on analytics rather than building a team talented enough to compete for a World Series title. 

"I saw Willson's comments; my interpretation was a little different than that there are things he wants fixed and changed," Breslow said. "We actually had a great conversation with Willson yesterday, met for over two hours... It was incredibly constructive and covered a wide scope of things; he spoke very highly of his time here and is very much looking forward to 2027," he continued. 

Contreras was undoubtedly the Red Sox best offensive player in 2026, and he took on a major leadership role in the clubhouse. Smoothing things over and hearing out an 11-year veteran who has won a World Series was crucial for Breslow and Tracy heading into the offseason. 

22-year-old outfielder Roman Anthony was removed from the Red Sox postseason roster after reinjuring his right hand, which kept him out for 101 regular-season games. Breslow was asked for a status update on Anthony, telling reporters that, as of now, rest is seen as the best course of action and that surgery is not on the table.

Much has been said about Tracy's decision to lift both starters, Payton Tolle and Sonny Gray, after just 4.2 innings, with many speculating the decision came from Breslow and the rest of the front office. Tracy heavily pushed back on that notion on Monday morning, saying "None. The decisions are mine. We have information, just like the 29 other teams have... Not one time since I've been here has anyone scripted a game, has anybody told me to use this number to decide in this inning; those decisions are mine." 

After being eliminated in the Bronx for the second straight season, many questions arose about what moves the team needs to make to move forward. However, Breslow seemed more focused on helping players already in the organization take a step forward than on bringing in outside additions. 

"Wilyer Abreu has hit more home runs in each of the last three years; Durbin has had a jump. If there's a next step for those guys, I think that will help us tremendously," Breslow said. He also mentioned a full season of Curtis Mead, and Anthony will help improve the offense, as well as players like All-Star center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela taking another step forward. 

"The good news is that labor issues are way above our pay grade. We're moving forward with business as usual as we get into the rest of October, November, December, and January. We'll leave the labor stuff to the Commissioner's Office," Kennedy said. 

However, the Red Sox will undoubtedly need to pick a path ahead of the almost certain lockout, beginning on Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Will the team be more aggressive in getting ahead of the lockout, or wait for the landscape to be determined before making moves? Like Kennedy, Breslow sidestepped the question, saying, "I'll put whatever CBA situation aside; it's not really my place to talk through," he said. "What I'll say is every offseason is unique; we've seen certain offseasons where free agents sign early, others where it drags out, where there's a flurry of trade activity early, others where significant trades take place after the new year. It's hard to pinpoint how the natural sequence of the offseason will go this year," he continued. 

After missing the final five months of the regular season with a shoulder injury, 2025 American League Cy Young runner-up Garrett Crochet returned to the mound in Game 2 of the Wild Card round, allowing four earned runs on three hits with a strikeout without recording an out. 

However, Crochet checked out OK on Thursday and is on track to enter the offseason fully healthy. "He'll get another follow-up from our medical staff," Breslow said. "He pitched on Wednesday; the velo, the stuff, looked pretty good- vintage Garrett Crochet. He came out of it on Thursday feeling pretty good. So, he'll go into the offseason fully healthy," he continued. 

With Sonny Gray's future in doubt, Boston will need a fully healthy Crochet to return to the top of the rotation in 2026. 

The Red Sox have had more outfielders than they can play on a nightly basis for the last two seasons. Between Anthony, Abreu, Rafaela, and Jarren Duran, it doesn't sound like Breslow has any plans to force a move and clear the logjam. "To be thankful that we have a really talented outfield that has for a few years now been at the top of the leaderboards in defense," Breslow said when asked for his assessment of the outfield. "We'll go into the offseason, we'll start to meet on roster construction and see what opportunities exist. But today I don't think there's a decision to be made. I just think about our outfield core as a hallmark of our success," he continued. 

Breslow got ahead of the trade market, dealing starter Connelly Early to the Washington Nationals in exchange for infielder Curtis Mead. In a stroke of brutal luck, Mead was hit by a pitch in his second plate appearance in a Red Sox uniform, breaking his wrist and ending his season. It was clear throughout the press conference that the team is banking on Mead being a crucial part of the team's future, and while Breslow and Tracy stopped short of guaranteeing it, it certainly seemed like the 25-year-old would be the starting second baseman next season: "I would think that would be broadly our plan," Tracy said when asked about Mead at second base. "You realize what you're seeing from the player from afar; you see the numbers that project towards a 30-home-run season, and adding that, we were really excited about adding that... Pending a healthy offseason where everything progresses well, we would be excited to see what that looks like in our lineup," he continued. 

The former Red Sox catcher and franchise icon, Jason Varitek, was fired alongside manager Alex Cora and five other members of the team's coaching staff. Shortly after the firings, the team called Varitek's dismissal a "reassignment" to a different role in the organization, to be announced later. 

Earlier in the season, Kennedy was asked about Varitek's role on the team, saying Varitek was taking time away from baseball after being hit hard by the decision. As of Monday, the two-time World Series champion has still not rejoined the organization. "We've connected with each other, but we've got no update," Kennedy said of Varitek. "He is not, but we look forward to continuing the dialogue as we move forward," he said when asked if he was connected to the organization.

Along with Cora, the team fired six members of the major league coaching staff and replaced them with interim coaches from within the organization. Among those currently holding interim positions are bench coach Jose David Flores, third-base coach Chad Epperson, first-base coach Pablo Cabrera, and hitting coaches Colin Hetzler, Nelson Paulino, and Jack Simonetty. 

While the Red Sox committed to Tracy for the next three years, the status of the rest of the coaching staff remains in limbo. "We're going to continue to talk about that in the coming days," Tracy said when asked about his staff, noting the emphasis on speaking with players before they head into the offseason. 

Kennedy, Breslow and Tracy will now head off into the offseason and try and build the Red Sox into the contender they hoped to be in 2026.