How the Red Sox Overcame Significant Injuries in 2025
Alex Cora deserves credit for utilizing his limited resources to win 89 games
I came across an interesting stat as I was perusing the final MLB numbers for 2025. The Red Sox only had 3 qualified hitters this season. To be qualified, you need to have 3.1 plate appearances for each team game, which works out to 502 PAs. For comparison, playoff teams such as the Yankees, Phillies, Brewers, and Cubs had 7 qualified hitters.
In general, this means that the Red Sox lost quite a few players to injury over the course of the season. Add to that the late call ups of Anthony and Mayer, who also ended the season injured. Pitching didn’t fare much better as the team lost several starters and some key relievers as well. It is quite remarkable that they were able to win 89 games and a postseason berth.
Hitters
The lineup has been mix and match all season long, both due to platooning (a Cora favorite) or injury. Four key pieces of the lineup missed significant time this season, Alex Bregman, Wilyer Abreu, Marcelo Mayer, and Roman Anthony. Anthony was a revelation when he came up in early June. In 71 games, he became the team’s best hitter. On September 2nd, he strained an oblique and probably won’t be available for the reason of the year. This is a big blow to the Red Sox playoff hopes.
My offensive co-MVPs for the season, Romy Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder, not only hit well against lefties, but filled in the gaps admirably. Abraham Toro and Nathaniel Lowe were not perfect players by any means, but did enough to stabilize the first base position, and provided a few clutch moments along the way. The same goes for Nick Sogard and Nate Eaton. In most years they would not be major league players, but they have stepped up and provided enough offense to help the team into the playoffs.
The playoff lineup is not ideal. They are still missing their best hitter, and I have questions about whether Bregman or Abreu are 100 percent. Alex Cora will do what he has done all season and, despite getting no help at the deadline from Craig Breslow, piece together the best lineup he can. They will roll the dice and take their chances.
Starting Pitching
At the start of the season, starter depth was considered a strength. Crochet, Buehler, Houck, Giolito, and Bello filled out the rotation with Kutter Crawford and Richard Fitts providing depth. The Red Sox even told us that the injured Patrick Sandoval would join the club mid-season, but nobody really believed that. He didn’t pitch in 2025. Crawford wouldn’t be ready for the season and ended up never pitching as well.
Bello and Giolito started the season on the injured list and didn’t come back until late April. Fitts went down after only 3 starts in mid-April, came back for another 7 starts, then went on the IL for good in August. Tanner Houck started 9 games and posted an 8.04 ERA before going down for the season in mid-May. Hunter Dobbins showed promise starting 11 games but went on the IL twice, ending his season.
The Red Sox had much trouble finding 4th and 5th starters all season. Walker Buehler was released but thankfully Payton Tolle, Kyle Harrison, and Connelly Early stepped up to finish out the season. Somehow, behind the strong top 3 starters, the Red Sox pieced together a rotation that managed 89 wins. I think that’s remarkable given the circumstances they faced in 2025, losing a cumulative 786 days to injury.
Bullpen
The bullpen was not as decimated by injury as the rotation this season except for a key piece, Justin Slaten. He was projected to be a late inning setup man and was very good before going on the IL in late May. When he returned in late August, he was shaky, giving up 7 earned runs in his first 6 appearances. He has since stabilized, allowing no runs in his last 6 appearances and looking like the dominant reliever we expected to see.
The Red Sox Swiss Army knife Josh Winckowski went on the IL in late April and never returned. Brennan Bernardino is currently on the IL but expected to be ready for the playoffs. He will be a key piece against tough lefties. Other middle relievers such as Zack Kelly and Chris Murphy missed significant time but are currently active. Middle relief has been a problem all year long and needs to be stabilized for the playoffs. It will be interesting to see who Alex Cora selects for the postseason roster. My guess is Tolle, Harrison, Early, or some combination of the 3 will be in the bullpen for the first round. I think that would be a good move.
Conclusion
Whatever happens this year, my takeaway is that if this team is mostly healthy in 2026, they could be a force to be reckoned with. I’m not saying they don’t need to add; they definitely do. Current players could also opt out, and that bears watching. Health is always important in the quest to win a championship, and it will be no different next year.