The team re-signed outfielder Jarren Duran to a one-year, $7.7m contract for 2026 after declining the option on his prior contract. Shortstop Trevor Story opted in to the remaining two years of his contract to remain with the team.

Brennan Bernardino was traded to the Colorado Rockies for minor league outfielder Braiden Ward on November 18th. The team traded pitchers Brandon Clarke and Richard Fitts to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Sonny Gray and cash on November 25th. The team traded minor league prospects Jhostynxon García and Jesus Travieso to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Johan Oviedo, Tyler Samaniego and Adonys Guzman on December 4th. On December 21st, yhe team traded pitcher Hunter Dobbins and minor league pitching prospects to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Willson Contreras. They also signed Isiah Kiner‑Falefa to a one‑year contract and claimed infielder Tsung‑Che Cheng. Days later, the team completed a deal with Milwaukee, sending Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, and David Hamilton to the Brewers for Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler, and a draft pick.

The team re-signed catcher Connor Wong to a one-year, $1.3m contract for 2026 to avoid arbitration.

The winter was less about splash than steady roster engineering. The biggest early swing came on January 21st, when Boston signed Ranger Suárez to a five‑year, $150 million deal.

As camp unfolded, the Red Sox trimmed steadily, optioning or reassigning nearly every NRI in waves. The final notable addition came March 12th, when Boston signed veteran lefty Danny Coulombe. Tommy Kahnle arrived late on a minor‑league deal.

The Sox opened in Cincinnati on March 26th and took them down 3-0. Garrett Crochet allowed only three hits in six innings, Ceddanne Rafaela hit an RBI single in the seventh inning and the Red Sox got their first opening day shutout since 2015. Roman Anthony had three hits for the Red Sox. Crochet struck out six and walked two en route to his first victory in an opener. The Red Sox added a pair of runs in the ninth on RBI singles by Trevor Story and Jarren Duran.
 

In Houston, the Sox lost the next three games. The Red Sox only crossed home plate seven times during their three games in Houston. As a club, Boston is batting just .208 on the year. Despite the additions of defense-focused infielders this offseason, the Red Sox have twice as many errors (six) through five games than they had last year. They've struck out 64 times in six games and have a .211 batting average as a team. The Sox have a 4.91 ERA as a team, which hardly reflects their run prevention-focus. The Red Sox have allowed 11 home runs and hit six.

Fueled by a pair of homers from Marcelo Mayer and Willson Contreras, the Red Sox snapped their five-game losing skid on April 3rd, defeating Xander Bogaerts and the Padres, 5-2, in their home opener at Fenway Park.he Sox benefited from a bounce-back start from Sonny Gray (6 innings pitched, 4 hits, 2 earned runs). Sox pitchers limited San Diego to just four total hits in the victory.