After Ceddanne Rafaela's latest walk off heroics over the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox have officially clinched a postseason spot for the first time since 2021.
The 2025 Red Sox have battled injuries, streaky offense, wildly inconsistent defense and team drama to return to the postseason for the first time in years. Boston's season has been defined by excellent offseason moves, such as the Garrett Crochet trade and Alex Bregman signing, and huge jumps from homegrown players like Brayan Bello and Roman Anthony.
Before the postseason, all clubs in contention must shrink their active rosters from the September high of 28 players back down to 26. Since the Red Sox are quite injured going into the playoffs, it will be difficult to narrow down which players have to go, but two possibilities come to mind.
2 Red Sox on the outside looking in at the 2025 postseason roster
Payton Tolle
Payton Tolle posted an incredible first season in the Red Sox's farm system, and even won Minor League Pitcher of the Year in the organization. But the lefty has already surpassed his career high in innings pitched, and it's still just his first season in professional baseball. The wear on his arm may be beginning to show.
Tolle posted an outstanding MLB debut against the Pirates — he let up two runs on three hits with eight strikeouts and two walks over 5.1 innings — but he's struggled in most of his subsequent appearances. The 22-year-old has allowed10 runs over 10 innings in September, including five homers. He's also walked six batters this month.
Tolle's struggles in the major leagues don't cancel out his stellar minor league season and big league debut. However, he doesn't seem ready for the big moment, and the Red Sox could use more reliable, experienced pitchers in their bullpen during their first postseason appearance in years.
Nick Sogard
The Red Sox recalled Nick Soagrd for the fifth time this season as the corresponding move after Roman Anthony strained his oblique on September 2. Sogard has had some highlight reel moments since his most recent call up, including a walk-off single against the A's on September 17.
But as the Red Sox's Wild Card standing fell into question after their series loss to the Athletics and as the Guardians went on a tear, Sogard's playing time decreased. He didn't appear in a game from September 19-27, and only played after the Sox clinched a playoff spot.
Sogard has been a reliable utility player for the Red Sox for two seasons, and his contributions haven't gone unnoticed, but they need more than his .258/.320/.337 slash line on the bench.