On Monday, the Red Sox (89-73) held their annual end of season press conference, with manager Alex Cora, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and team president Sam Kennedy all on stage to answer questions from the assembled local media.
After a disappointing exit in the Wild Card round at the hands of the Yankees (94-68) - a team now with +1600 odds at Caesars to win the World Series down 2-0 in the ALDS - Boston’s front office is faced with a bevy of questions as they look ahead to 2026.
The organization was finally able to get over the hump and return to postseason play for the first time since 2021. That’s great! But now it’s time for one of the only real name-brands in all of baseball to start competing like the blue blood they are again.
The Red Sox have all the ability in the world to field a World Series-caliber team every single year.
What will they do this offseason to get themselves back into that echelon for 2026?
If you ask Cora, he’ll tell you they already have the arms in the organization to both make noise in the short term and the long term.
Breslow did most of the talking on Monday, but here’s what Cora had to say that makes it clear his affinity for the organization’s pitching depth:
Question: From your seat, how close do you think this team is to winning the pennant and being in the World Series?
Alex Cora: “We were one strike away, one out away from being tied in the ninth, right? When you get to October, you never know what's going to happen. I think we took the steps in the right direction last offseason, during the season, not only as far as what the front office did but what we did on the field. It was a much better team than the last few years.
“The thing that excites me is the pitching, going into the offseason. And you know, we had some guys last year that we thought they were going to be better - Tanner [Houck], Kutter [Crawford], right? They were banged up. But what we have in player development now is real, you know? And going into the offseason last year, we all talked about position players. And I was like, ‘OK, cool, that's great.’ But we have some good position players here. Now we're talking about a deeper pitching staff, which is very important.
“We took our hits throughout the season, and we still had very talented pitchers towards the end. The bullpen is in a much better place going into the offseason than last year. So to answer the question - I truly believe we're going to be playing for the same thing next year, is to win the AL East and have a deep run in October, and hopefully win the World Series.”
Q: Alex, how impressed were you with Connelly Early, considering that he was called up at the end of the season?
AC: “Bro, you know what? After game three, I saw that kid in the dugout, and I had no doubt that this guy is going to contribute in the future. We talked a little bit after the game. The goal is to get stronger and keep getting better. He had a taste of what it is to pitch in October and at Yankee Stadium in a win-or-go-home game, right? So what better experience [would] we want for a young kid to have, right? So moving forward, he's going to be better, and I'm excited about his future.”
Sep 16, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Connelly Early (71) celebrates after a catch by Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela (not pictured) during the fourth inning against the Athletics at Fenway Park. (Paul Rutherford/Imagn Images)With Boston being eliminated from playoff contention after only the first round, and with a front office seemingly motivated to spend this offseason, Cora’s confidence in the young pitching may be the icing on the cake for Red Sox fans eager to throw a futures bet on their team to win the World Series in 2026.
My recommendation would be to monitor OddsTrader as soon as the World Series champion is crowned - legit as the catcher is running towards the pitcher to celebrate. That’s going to be your best chance to grab a good number on Boston for next season.
Otherwise, there’s enough positive momentum around this team right now that I believe their futures number will be impacted by public bettors buying-in on Breslow when he says Fenway Sports Group is willing to invest in a championship window.
I, personally, will believe it when I see it.
I also gave up betting on sports a few years ago when I came to the realization that I was absolutely terrible at it and way in the red.
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.