Through 12 games, the Boston Red Sox are a disappointing 4-8 on the season. They haven't hit well enough and they haven't played good enough defense, which was supposed to be a major tenant of how they were built in 2026.

Furthermore, they've left themselves susceptible to criticism over how they handled their offseason and the roster structure that has resulted from it.

Let's go back and take a look at a conundrum we foresaw coming for months:

Heading into the season, we knew that the Red Sox had five outfielders for four spots. Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Masataka Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu were all competing for reps in the outfield and reps at designated hitter. One of them was always going to be left out.

Anthony was once the top prospect in baseball and has already been signed to a big extension, so it was clear he was going to play regularly. Abreu and Rafaela are both Gold Glove winners, so it was hard to imagine them sitting often, either.

The assumption was that Duran would play a lot, but Yoshida's presence would complicate things for everyone.

It was clear that the Red Sox were heading for a roster issue, but they elected not to address it. They could have traded Duran. They didn't. They could have traded or released Yoshida. They didn't.

If they were just assuming that an injury would occur and make this whole thing go away. It didn't.

And what we've been left with is somewhat of playing time chaos.

The following came from Chris Cotillo of MassLive on Thursday morning:

Your early OF playing time breakdown in 12 games (2 vs. LHPs)

Abreu (49 PAs) has started all 12 in RF

Anthony (52 PAs) has started 11 (6 in LF, 5 at DH)

Rafaela (37 PAs) has started 10 in CF

Duran (39 PAs) has started 9 (4 in LF, 3 at DH, 2 in CF)

Yoshida (24 PAs) has started 5 (3 at DH, 2 in LF)

He smartly added that the Red Sox placed a high trade price on Duran this offseason, but that his usage here hasn't indicated that they feel as strongly about him as they said they did in conversations with other teams.

Again, someone could get injured and this problem could go away, and we could all be praising the team's depth, but for now, this is a situation that everyone saw coming and the team did nothing about. They had a chance to move someone for a valuable piece that they do get consistent use out of it, and they didn't. Instead, they've created this hodgepodge of playing time that impacts some guys ability to be in rhythm. 

The 29-year-old Duran is hitting just .182 so far.

The Red Sox are back it again on Friday night at the St. Louis Cardinals. First pitch is 8:15 p.m. ET.

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