At this point each season, everything is fresh and new, and nearly anything seems possible. For the Red Sox infield, the mystery of what the season holds is even more intriguing because the Red Sox have an almost completely new-look infield.
For the most part, the players are new to each other and to Fenway: Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin, Isiah Kiner-Falefa (bench), and Andruw Monasterio (bench) are all new to the Sox. All but Kiner-Falefa have arrived from the National League. Durbin and Marcelo
Mayer, the starting third and second basemen, are still new-ish to MLB, with both returning for just their second year in the big leagues. Mayer, in particular, is an unknown quantity since his first season was cut short by injury.
Trevor Story holds a special place in the infield; at this point, he’s the only infielder who returned from the 2025 team and is not on the IL or in the minors. As such, he’s the anchor, though even he brings some question marks with him related to health and age.
What are these infielders capable of, individually and as a group? With as many unknowns as there are, it would be foolish to make predictions but there are certainly goals.
Stabilize the Infield Defense
This is foundational goal and must be considered a bare minimum for the season. Veterans Story and Contreras will lead the way here, facilitating the transition out of the chaos of recent seasons.
The organization’s new focus on defense will be stabilizing in its own right because it’s given the front office a mission. By signing a number of glove-first utility players, the team should be able to significantly reduce the errors that have plagued them for too long, and shut the revolving door on the procession of Quad-A players who were needed due to poor roster construction and lack of depth.
Stay (or Get) Healthy
This might be considered a stretch goal, as injuries are a way of life in professional sports and the Red Sox have had their share recently.
Romy González and Triston Casas could be contributors this season but they begin the season on the IL, recovering from their respective surgeries (shoulder and knee). Brendan Rodgers, who wasn’t likely to make the MLB roster anyway, is likely out for the season due to surgery.
With Story and Mayer, who have been defined in many ways by their injuries in recent years, fingers are crossed. For Mayer especially, finishing the year on the field—something he hasn’t done since 2021, the year he was drafted—is crucial. He has never played more than 100 games in a season as a professional and needs to prove what he’s capable of. He will surely want to shut down the speculation, which only reignited when he experienced “soreness” late in spring training.
Unlike recent years, there is a versatile bench to draw from—to allow Alex Cora to execute his matchups, to keep starters fresh, and to step in when infield injuries arise.
Manufacture Enough Runs to Quiet the Talk About the Missing Power Bat
This is absolutely a stretch goal.
This task doesn’t fall only to the infield, of course, but since first and third base are typically seen as power-hitting positions, the battle lines are drawn. Contreras has amassed 172 HRs in his career, though never more than 24 in a season. His bat is one of the strongest on the entire team, not only among infielders, which speaks to the lack of overall power. There are other ways to score runs, of course, but in working to create those opportunities throughout the batting order, they find themselves operating outside of the long-time Red Sox identity. Contreras has decent power and hits to the gaps. His goal is to hit close to 20 homers and consistently drive in runners with doubles off the wall, or other well-placed hits.
Durbin (.256/.334/.387) is known for slapping singles, not for pop. He has speed and baserunning smarts, with 18 stolen bases in 2025. His part of this collective goal? Continue to get those hits, work walks, and turn on the speed to stretch some of those hits into another bag. Once he’s done that, the mission becomes swiping bases and racing home to score. He seems like a player who would find his groove in this hard-working, keep-the-pressure-on style of play.
Story rebuilt trust with Red Sox Nation and resurrected his career in 2025, as he hit 25 homers, drove in 96 runs, and stole a career-high 31 bases. At 33 and with his injury history, it’s unclear if he can maintain that pace, though he has spoken about managing his routines as a means of staying healthy and fresh. He will need to do just that and be a major offensive contributor, as he was last year.
Mayer has plenty of room to grow at the plate, slashing .228/.272/.402 with eight doubles, a triple and four home runs in 44 games. In the small sample size of 136 plate appearances over 44 games, he struck out 41 times (a rate of 30%) and walked eight times (a rate of 5%). Alex Cora has challenged him to improve his batting eye and plate approach, and in many ways, Mayer can only improve from here.
When González returns later in the season, he will hopefully be ready to do his share by mashing off the bench. Casas’ future in the infield or on the roster is unclear at this point, but if there’s any hope that he can resume the production he’s showed flashes of, he’ll be welcomed back with open arms.
Later this week, the infield will get the chance to prove itself in real games that matter. The foundation is there to build on, and the infield looks better, on paper at least, than any the Red Sox have rostered in several years.
