Coming down the stretch and heading towards the 2026 postseason, the Boston Red Sox were offensively shot.
Some of their best offensive contributors all season long were playing injured (Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela). It should come as no surprise then that the September numbers were bleak. In the final month of the season, only two players hit over .300 (Rafaela in just 12 at-bats and Eli White in 27 at-bats).
White was also one of just three players to have an OPS over .740 (.889) that month. He was joined by Contreras (.944 in five games) and Adley Rutschman (.846 in 17 games).
The offense sputtering out had been identified as a problem before September, however. And one potential solution came in the form of top prospect Franklin Arias.
Arias started the year in Double-A, but it didn’t take long for the 20-year-old to force his way up to Triple-A. Between the two levels, the right-handed-hitting shortstop slashed .323/.400/.557 with 28 doubles, one triple and 25 home runs. He drove in 91 runs, scored 78 and stole nine bases. Arias did all that while limiting strikeouts and playing fantastic defense up the middle.
But Arias never got the call to Boston in 2026. And that was proven to be the right decision come playoff time.
Why holding off on Franklin Arias' call-up was the right move for the Red Sox
When it was first brought up, there were strong debates on both sides of the aisle. The people who didn’t want Arias up were pointing out the starting of his clock, the potential of no baseball next year, and throwing another top prospect into a big spot and asking him to save the offense.
Meanwhile, the people who wanted to see Arias in Boston simply pointed to the lack of offense, specifically from the middle of the infield. The defense was pretty rough, too.
Trevor Story and Roman Anthony returned at the end of August. Anthony had some big moments and great under-the-hood numbers, but the production wasn’t anything to turn the offense around. Story had some big moments and absolutely dreadful under-the-hood numbers. He also wasn’t turning the offense around.
Could Arias have helped spark something for the offense? Maybe a little bit. But we saw a completely dead lineup for over a month. Was he going to start making everyone else hit better?
Then, the Sox went to the playoffs and get trounced by the New York Yankees in two games. The pitching got rocked, and the offense was still not awake. Maybe Arias has some big moments, but is his presence making the Red Sox win a game they lost 9-0? What about the one they lost 9-2?
I do believe Arias would’ve been an immediate upgrade over most of the other options they had at shortstop and second base. He had no grace period for rookie struggles and adjustments, though. And he certainly wasn’t going to be such a big leap that the Red Sox would overcome all the injuries and poor offensive performances over the last month.
With or without Arias, Boston wasn’t going to get past New York this year. Even if it did, the Yankees went on to get swept in three games by the Tampa Bay Rays in the very next round. What were the odds of the Red Sox beating them?
The Red Sox have a lot to be excited about. That pitching staff, with a healthy Garrett Crochet, is going to be incredible. But they simply weren’t going very far in the postseason in 2026. Bringing Arias into the mix would’ve brought some excitement for the fans, but it wouldn't have changed the course of the postseason.
A late-season call-up for Arias could've turned some fans (not exactly the most patient fanbase at times) against the prospect if he couldn’t help the team. It would have started that clock on his service time, and if there is a lockout, it would’ve created unnecessary complications. Now we know even if the season doesn’t start on time, Arias can be playing in Triple-A.
At the time, fans were upset that Arias wasn’t on the team. But the outcome would have been the same, and now we’d be worrying about the immediate future of one of the best prospects in baseball. Sometimes playing it safe is the right move, and the Red Sox took the correct path with Arias in 2026.
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