Red Sox Need More From These 3 Players in October, Roman Anthony Included

If you wanted an early preview of what playoff baseball will look like for the Boston Red Sox in 2026, Wednesday night was that exact setup.

The Texas Rangers are fighting for their playoff lives, while the Red Sox have the luxury of having their wild-card spot all but assured. That meant Texas threw the best pitchers they could from start to finish, with MacKenzie Gore handing off to Jakob Junis in the middle innings before ex-Red Sox Nathan Eovaldi piggybacked the final four innings.

Well, the Red Sox only had three hits on the night in a disappointing 7-3 loss, and it highlighted a larger problem. Too many of this team's key offensive contributors are sleepwalking through September, with young star outfielder Roman Anthony topping the short list. Let's break down the three primary culprits.

1. Roman Anthony

Anthony came off the injured list guns blazing at first, but the last 11 games have been a grind. He's 7-for-49 (.149 AVG) with a .429 OPS and just one extra-base hit in those last 51 plate appearances. He's not taking his walks, he's not hitting for power, and he looks caught in between on far too many swings.

Too much of this offense was built to run through Anthony, which is evident as much when he's struggling as it was when he was injured. But if Willson Contreras isn't going to homer every night, then Anthony has to be ready to provide a big swing in October. This is where it would have really helped for him to have gotten some playoff experience last year.

2. Adley Rutschman

You can be certain that when the Red Sox gave up five pieces for Rutschman , including three of their top five prospects, they expected more than a .609 OPS and 0.1 bWAR in the first 24 games. But the trade was made to have a locked-in starting catcher for October who could add thump to the lineup, so all could soon be forgiven.

Rutschman just isn't making enough quality contact, and one can almost see him pressing to make up for the slow start that was exacerbated by wrist and elbow injuries. It's easy to tell a guy he needs to find more barrels, but a lot harder to find the advice that gets him to do it.

3. Wilyer Abreu

Abreu is having one of the quietest 6-WAR seasons in recent memory, and it's not as if the Red Sox should be demanding more from him, all things considered. That said, for this team to make a deep playoff run, the notoriously streaky lefty is going to have to get hot.

While Abreu can carry a team when he's seeing the ball well, his propensity for hitless games is worth tracking. He's got five of them already in September, including the last two in a row, and while he's been better in the second half than the first, his last few games have looked shaky.

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