Several Red Sox Notables Among 20 Fresh One-Year Contracts for 2026

The Boston Red Sox handled some administrative business on Wednesday, and though it was relatively simple, it affected a huge percentage of the roster.

As the team announced on social media and an official press release, Boston agreed to pre-arbitration, one-year contracts with 20 players for the upcoming season. These were the members of the 40-man roster

The players the Red Sox tendered contracts, in alphabetical order: Wilyer Abreu, Jake Bennett, Tsung-Che Cheng, Caleb Durbin, Connelly Early, Nate Eaton, Mickey Gasper, Zack Kelly, Marcelo Mayer, Andruw Monasterio, Jovani Morán, Carlos Narváez, Tyler Samaniego, Anthony Seigler, Justin Slaten, Nick Sogard, Payton Tolle, Tyler Uberstine, Ryan Watson, and Greg Weissert.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Notable aspects of Red Sox's 20 contracts

Feb 27, 2026; North Port, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Marcelo Mayer (11) throws to first base in the second inning against the Atlanta Braves during spring training at CoolToday Park. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The deals are all quite cheap for the Red Sox, but some are slightly higher than others because players are in their first, second, third years, etc.

Outfielder Wilyer Abreu, in his third full season with the team, will make $810,000, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Catcher Carlos Narváez, in his second full season, will make $800,000. And infielder Marcelo Mayer, who played part of last season but not all of it, will make $783,500.

The league minimum salary for the coming season is $780,000. These salaries will also only apply to the players when they are on the major league roster, prorated to however many of the 187 days of the league year they spend there. If they're in the minors, they get quite a bit less.

There were also a few notable players who weren't on this list because they had already signed long-term pre-arbitration extension. Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony, and Kristian Campbell are all costing the Red Sox significantly more against the luxury tax this year than the players listed a few paragraphs above.

There could certainly be other extensions signed this season, though none feel as pressing as the deals last year for Anthony. Mayer, Narváez, and Abreu would be plausible candidates, as would Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, and although he just got to Boston, infielder Caleb Durbin.