Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu Still Not Earning Proper Recognition Among Peers

Boston Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu has had a very good first two years in Major League Baseball. But those who have watched him daily know there's more in the tank.

With two Gold Gloves already to his name and a robust .791 career OPS, Abreu has displayed prowess on both sides of the ball that should command respect across the sport. And it's not like he's getting no love among his peers, but in terms of the overall right-field landscape, he's not being grouped with the names he should be just yet.

As if to illustrate that point, Bleacher Report dropped its right field position rankings for the upcoming season on Tuesday, and Abreu's placement on that list was somewhat comically low.

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How Abreu can earn proper respect this year

Abreu was Bleacher Report's ninth-ranked right fielder when those rankings came out on Tuesday. Writer Joel Reuter explained why the 26-year-old landed where he did on those rankings.

"Abreu has won back-to-back AL Gold Glove Awards while navigating a tricky right field at Fenway Park, and his 20 (defensive runs saved) since the start of the 2024 season are tops at the position," Reuter wrote.

"The 26-year-old has been shielded from left-handed pitching, tallying just 68 plate appearances against southpaws in 2025, but he does plenty of offensive damage in a strong-side platoon role."

If any argument works well against Abreu as one of the top few players in the sport at his position, it's the fact that to this point, his manager hasn't trusted him to hit lefties every day. And while we've seen him have success against them at times, especially if they were wearing Texas Rangers uniforms, Abreu's overall splits against southpaws definitely aren't indicators of guaranteed success.

Still, Abreu landed directly behind Seiya Suzuki, Sal Frelick, and Brandon Nimmo on the list from BR. There's no way the Red Sox would ever consider taking any of those players over Abreu moving forward, and he was better than all three based on fWAR last season even despite some injury issues.

But until Abreu elevates his game to the new heights every Red Sox fan knows he can reach, those will continue to be his most direct peers, rather than the Corbin Carrolls and Kyle Tuckers of the world.