It took until the clock had almost run out on the offseason, but the Boston Red Sox finally finished their infield. The Sox and Milwaukee Brewers struck a deal that sent infielder Caleb Durbin to Boston. Durbin brings flexibility, defense, and speed to the Sox, but is missing one key thing — power.
Headed into the offseason, Craig Breslow said the Red Sox could look to add two big bats to the lineup. Most assumed that meant Alex Bregman and one other. It ended up being Willson Contreras and Durbin.
Boston struggled to generate home run power for long stretches last season. The team finished 15th in MLB in homers overall, but its pace dipped sharply after the June 15 trade of Rafael Devers, when they ranked 23rd in baseball. The problem became even more pronounced in September, as they placed 26th in the league while playing mostly without Roman Anthony, who went on the injured list on September 3.
All of Red Sox Nation knew that this team needed more pop, and this offseason, they had the means to acquire it. Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso, and Eugenio Suárez, three of the most prodigious power bats in baseball, were free agents, and they didn't even try to acquire them. They were heavily linked to Ketel Marte and Isaac Paredes, players who would have slotted right into the heart of the lineup, but couldn't commit to the asking prices.
Red Sox offense needed more power in the middle of the lineup and I think you're not maximizing the home field advantage of Fenway Park if you don't have more power.
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) February 9, 2026
Lineup needs more power in a lineup that included Bregman. If you swap in Contreras, same problem exists.
Power was an offseason priority the Red Sox seemingly forgot about
Durbin is by no means a bad player. In his first season in the majors, he posted a 2.8 bWAR, finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, played solid defense, and stole 18 bases. The issue isn’t his overall value — it’s that he lacks the power that was promised.
Last season, Durbin hit 11 home runs, Contreras hit 20. Devers (before the trade to San Francisco) and Bregman had 15 and 18 for the Sox, two more combined than their replacements. The infield now projects as a weak point in Boston's lineup, and it will have to rely on a lot of production from their outfielders and playing good defense.
It seems like the organization is preparing for the power deficiency. In their opening media availabilities, Breslow said they "feel confident there will be power that emerges from the group that we have." Alex Cora said "I think there will be a lot of games we can win with 3 or 4 runs." Their pivot was to lean into defense after missing out on many players, and are now trying to justify it.
Durbin should be a successful Red Sox player for a long time, but he doesn't fix one of the team's biggest problems. The Sox are going to need players to take big leaps forward in the power department if they want to improve on their successes for 2025.