What will the Red Sox postseason roster look like?

We’ll know exactly what the Red Sox postseason roster will look like soon enough. But since half of New England is under water right now and there was no Red Sox game yesterday to discuss, let’s talk about it anyway.

Thanks to the injuries to Willson Contreras and Mickey Gasper, there are an uncomfortable number of question marks in the roster at this point. We don’t even know who the starting first baseman will be.

For this exercise, I’m assuming that Contreras isn’t healthy enough to make the cut.

I’m also assuming the Sox carry 14 position players and 12 pitchers, which is what most teams do in the Wild card round.

Let’s take a look.

Catchers

2 Locks: Adley Rutschman, Connor Wong

The Mikey Gasper injury is bad for Red Sox fans and for fans of the poetry of baseball. But for Connor Wong, it may be the thing that got him onto the playoff roster.

Infielders

4 Locks: Caleb Durbin, Trevor Story, Nick Sogard, Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Question Marks: Romy Gonzalez, Andruw Monasterio, Curtis Mead, Nate Eaton

With Mickey Gasper having been ruled out and Willson Contreras looking unlikely, the infield bats are suddenly looking pretty weak. And while the importance of defense can be magnified in October, I’m not sure a glove-first infield of Durbin-Story-IKF-Sogard has enough offensive juice in it to take on the Yankees.

Romy Gonzalez has not contributed to this Red Sox season at all. But he’s healthy, he has produced in AAA, and with the Yankees’ tough lefties, he’s needed more than ever. Remarkably, Romy is going to be the primary first baseman this series. And if the 2026 Red Sox have any magic fairy dust left, look for him to be the one sprinkled with it.

I’m expecting Monasterio to make the cut but probably not contribute in any way while Sogard and IKF split duties at second. Nate Eaton’s speed and defensive flexibility make him a mighty tempting option for the last spot on the roster, but he might get passed over in favor of a surprising outfield option.

Outfielders

5: Locks: Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Jaren Duran, Jahmai Jones

Question Marks: Braiden Ward, Nate Eaton

Jones, Anthony, and Duran will cycle through the DH/LF spots.

Does Braiden Ward get the final roster spot and make his MLB debut in the postseason? He’s the closest thing the organization has to a guaranteed stolen base, and as Red Sox fans know, sometimes you really, really need a stolen base in October.

Starting Pitchers

3 Locks: Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez

This is only part of the roster that is written in stone. Thankfully, it’s the most important part of the roster.

Relief Pitchers

6 Locks: Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, Tyron Guerrero, Brayan Bello, Erik Miller, Greg Weissert

Question Marks: Jake Bennett, Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Jovani Moran, Alec Gamboa, Jedixson Paez, Raymond Burgos

In a short series you don’t need too many arms. The Sox could probably get away with just 8 relievers, but they put 9 relievers on the Wild Card roster last year, so let’s assume they will again this year. That leaves just 3 spots from that group of question marks — and, man, question marks is absolutely the right term to use here.

The left-handed middle relief looks like a potential problem. Jake Bennett got his first taste of bullpen work on Friday and it went down smooth. Given his contributions to the team this year, I think he’ll get the nod. But I’m not sure how the team will use him. He has no experience as a true, one-inning reliever and, since he’ll be called on to start in the next round should they advance, he’ll need to keep his arm stretched out to some degree.

Miller, Gamboa, Moran, and Burgos all have their issues. Miller and Moran have gotten the bulk of the innings, but can we trust either one of them to throw strikes when it counts? If you can’t — and if you’re not sure about using Bennett to get one tough lefty in a tight spot as opposed to throwing multiple innings — then who do you turn to? Maybe there really is a non-romantic need for Garrett Crochet on this roster after all. I’m giving the final three spots to Bennett, Moran, and Crochet. Let’s see what you got in the tank, big man.