As we head into the final days of 2025, it won’t be much longer before the baseball world turns its attention squarely to the upcoming season.

With pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to spring training in less than two months, now is a great time to reflect back on the year that was before we turn the page to 2026.

The Herald’s Red Sox reporters, Mac Cerullo and Gabrielle Starr, discuss.

Favorite moment of 2025

Mac Cerullo: Happy New Year, Gabrielle! It’s crazy to think another whole Red Sox season has passed. Before we dive too deep into what’s to come, what was your favorite moment from this past year?

Gabrielle Starr: Happy New Year, Mac! There were so many great moments – Garrett Crochet’s complete-game shutout and the 10-game winning streak before the All-Star break, for example – but I can’t think of anything better than Ceddanne Rafaela clinching the first Red Sox postseason berth since ‘21 with a Friday night walk-off. What was your favorite?

MC: That was No. 1 on my top-10 list from last week and I think it’s pretty hard to dispute that was the season’s high point. But purely from a personal standpoint, being in Toronto for that last road series was really cool. It was my first time ever visiting the city, and between exploring Toronto and getting to experience a playoff-caliber Rogers Centre crowd, it was definitely a memory I won’t soon forget. As far as the season goes, obviously the club fell short of its ultimate goal and wound up getting bounced in the first round, so when we look back at 2025 how do you think this season will be remembered?

GS: Chaotically. That’s how I think it will be remembered. From the Rafael Devers drama and trade, to the Triston Casas and Tanner Houck injuries, to Garrett Crochet’s incredible first season here, to all the Fenway Greens walk-offs, to their brief postseason run, this was one of the most chaotic Red Sox seasons in my lifetime. We’ve used the term ‘roller coaster’ on more than one occasion in these segments, but I think it’s especially apropos for 2025. What do you think?

MC: I think this season will be remembered as a prologue to whatever comes next. It was an obvious step forward from the forgettable 2022-24 stretch, but nobody hangs banners in Boston for Wild Card appearances leading to a first-round exit. If 2025 winds up being a blip followed by more mediocrity, like 2021, then people probably won’t think much of it at all. But if next year represents the club’s true return to form, then last season’s team could be like the 2015 Cubs, who weren’t quite ready but who everyone could see was on the verge of kicking down the door.

Remaining offseason to-do list

MC: So even though we’re about to turn the page to 2026, the offseason isn’t over yet. What do you think the Red Sox will do to round out the roster in the upcoming weeks?

GS: Add another bat. Alex Bregman, perhaps? They also need to figure out how they’re going to balance Masataka Yoshida, four starting outfielders, Casas (at some point) and Willson Contreras, because they only get one designated hitter spot per game and this roster is looking crowded.

MC: I think their next move will tell us a lot about what the roster will ultimately look like. If Bregman re-signs then they’ll have their full lineup covered and at that point it’ll be on Craig Breslow and Alex Cora to figure out how to make the pieces fit. But if Bregman lands elsewhere, maybe the next bat will also come via trade? I still don’t understand how the Red Sox could make this outfield situation work for another year, so until we get to Opening Day and Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu are both penciled in I feel like one of them is eventually going to get moved. With Casas at least the Red Sox have time on their side, which is one reason why I’m pretty confident at this point Yoshida will be back. If he’s healthy and effective he can still be a productive DH, and if Casas starts pushing the envelope then that will become a good problem to have down the road.

Boston Red Sox’s Jarren Duran, right, celebrates with Carlos Narváez after his inside-the-park home run during an Aug. 31 game at Fenway Park. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)

GS: There’s no doubt in my mind that Yoshida can be a productive DH, even if he hasn’t hit for much power the last two years, but because the Red Sox don’t want him playing the outfield they can’t do as much rotating through the DH spot as other teams. It certainly made things difficult the last two seasons, but there’s nothing we can do about that. I’d like to see them re-sign Bregman, not only because he’s an excellent fit, but because it would mean they finally paid a free agent.

MC: The fact that Breslow has made 10 trades but not signed a single free agent is kind of wild. What’s interesting is that even though they haven’t spent in free agency, they’ve still added quite a bit of payroll this offseason. They’ll pay Gray $21 million this season and Contreras $17.25 million, which according to Red Sox Payroll on X/Twitter puts them just below the $244 million Competitive Balance Tax threshold. So adding Bregman would put them well over the first threshold and possibly the second, which would be a great indicator to hesitant fans that ownership really is all-in on winning this time.

Expectations for 2026

GS: Let’s start broad and then zoom in. I think it’s safe to say the Red Sox have more starting pitching depth than ever before – knock on wood – but are they currently a better team in their other areas of need, and on the same level as their AL East foes? I don’t necessarily believe so. Toronto and Baltimore have had productive offseasons, particularly the Orioles, who got exactly what Boston needed in slugger Pete Alonso. The Red Sox could be a Wild Card team again, and maybe they’ll even go past the first round this time, but has Breslow built a World Series team with these offseason moves? I don’t think so.

MC: As currently constructed I think this year’s team is about as good as last year, which is to say a playoff contender but likely not a championship contender. The Rays are probably a clear last-place team, but the Orioles took a big step forward and the Blue Jays and Yankees should both be good again. If the Red Sox add another bat and maybe another reliever or two, that will make a huge difference, otherwise the club will really be counting on Roman Anthony to make the leap from promising rookie to legitimate star.

GS: I agree, and that’s the problem: not enough done to improve the offense, and far too much pressure on Anthony. I think he’s better equipped to handle it than the average rookie star, but that’s not the point. The Red Sox have spent years saying they’re waiting for him and all of this other young talent to reach the majors, and here they are. Leadership should be building aggressively to complement them.

MC: Pitching-wise I think the Red Sox are in a great spot. Crochet is obviously a beast and I think I’m higher on Sonny Gray than most. Brayan Bello may still have another level to reach and Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford have both been effective MLB starters before. Between those guys and less experienced options like Johan Oviedo, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle, the Red Sox should have one of the best rotations in MLB. The bullpen could be elite too, but there are more question marks and I think the club really needs to add a veteran lefty arm or too as well. Going into spring training with Jovani Moran and Tyler Samaniego as the only non-closer lefty relievers on the 40-man roster seems risky.

Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet delivers a pitch to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter in the first inning of a game on Saturday, July 26 in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

GS: Agreed, especially on the Gray front. But they will need to do whatever they can to keep Crochet healthy, because the depth they have is incomparable to what he brings to this equation. The Chris Sale parallels have been eerily excellent so far, with both leading the majors in strikeouts and either MLB or the AL in innings in their first Red Sox seasons, and finishing runner-up to an AL Central pitcher for the Cy Young Award. From here on out though, the only way I want Crochet’s Red Sox tenure to mirror Sale’s is a World Series championship.

Too-early predictions

GS: We’re at the beginning of ‘26 here, but let’s try to predict how it will end. The ‘25 Red Sox were 89-73 this year and finished third in the AL East and lost the Wild Card round 2-1 to the Yankees. I’m going to say 91-71 and third in the division again in ‘26 – second if Anthony has the season we think he will – but they make it to the ALDS before losing in five games. What do you think?

MC: With the caveat that the offseason isn’t over and we don’t know exactly how all the teams will look, I think this year’s team takes another step and wins the AL East. The Red Sox really weren’t that far behind either the Blue Jays or the Yankees last year, and their pitching is still better than the Orioles’. The Blue Jays may have peaked and they could potentially lose Bo Bichette in free agency, and the Yankees have plenty of their own questions, especially when it comes to their defense and bullpen. I’ll say the Red Sox finish 93-69 in a highly competitive division and lose in six games to the Mariners in the ALCS.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora speaks in the locker room after the team defeated the Detroit Tigers on Friday, Sept. 26 in Boston. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)