Ranking the 5 most irreplaceable players on the Red Sox roster

The Boston Red Sox have had an up-and-down start to the 2025 season, but certain players have been making a massive impact on the ball club.

Craig Breslow's second offseason at the helm saw massive improvements to the Red Sox roster in key areas. Some of the new acquisitions have had some of the biggest impacts, but longer-tenured Sox have also been stepping up. When looking at the current Red Sox roster, there are a few players that you can look at and know the Sox wouldn't be as good without them.

Ranking the 5 most irreplaceable players on the Red Sox roster

1. Garrett Crochet

A true ace at the top of Boston's rotation has been a stabilizing force through the first month of the season. The team is 5-2 through his first seven starts, and he has been the reason the Sox have righted the ship after a few losing skids. Boston has been missing a dominant pitcher atop the rotation since Nathan Eovaldi finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2021, but now that they have it, they wouldn't trade it for anything. Good thing they signed him to that extension until at least 2030.

2. Alex Bregman

Boston's other major offseason acquisition has shown why he is worth $40 million a year. He is fourth in bWAR in all of the majors, sixth in OPS, and has seven homers to his name. He has been a dominant force at the plate. The reigning Gold Glove winner at third base's defense hasn't quite been as advertised, but the Sox probably don't care because of how he has been performing at the plate. He has completely dispelled the idea that he's a slow starter and is a major reason the Sox are where they are. Let's just hope Boston can keep him around longer than this year.

3. Jarren Duran

The Angry Lizard started slow, but in his last 15 games, he has returned to 2024 form with a .333 batting average and .950 OPS. When he gets going the team gets going. Not many players in the majors have his ability to cause chaos on the base paths, and that fact alone makes him almost irreplaceable. When he adds the average, the pop, and plays solid defense in left he is an MVP candidate.

4. Kristian Campbell

The youngest player on the roster has been incredibly impactful in his first month of MLB action. The Rookie of the Year favorite finished April hitting .301 with a .902 OPS. Second base at Fenway hadn't seen a regular starter since 2016 (no player with more than 100 appearances there), but he's locked down for the long term and has so far earned every bit of his contract. It seemed like a questionable decision for him to make the Opening Day roster after he struggled in the spring, but any doubt has been put to rest, and Red Sox fans can rejoice that they have a potential perennial All-Star for the long term.

5. Rafael Devers

It's been an up-and-down start for Devers this season, but he's still been an impact player at the plate. Despite hitting just .225 through the first month, he leads the AL in walks and has still has 15 extra-base hits, good enough for a .787 OPS. He seems to be settling into the DH role more with every passing day and has turned it on with three home runs in the last week. There may have been an adjustment period for Devers at his new home at DH, but his bat is not one Boston will be taking out of the lineup anytime soon.