So many rehabs! As we round the stretch of the 2026 season, the Red Sox will be getting reinforcements from several long-injured players (though in the case of some of these players, it’s an open question as to whether they’re improvements over the current options). First up is Trevor Story, who is planning on playing today for AAA Worcester. Then comes the big guy: Roman Anthony is slated to play on Tuesday for AA Portland. Then it will be Isiah Kiner-Falefa making his rehab debut on Wednesday alongside Story in AAA. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
The rehabs come at an opportune time, as it looks like the Red Sox just lost another bat to injury. Masataka Yoshida left last night’s game with a strained left hamstring and is likely headed to the IL. “I think he’s going to be down for some time,” said Chad Tracy. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
To be frank, losing Masa isn’t much of a blow, as he’s barely contributed this season. Losing Sonny Gray, on the other hand, would be a major blow, as he’s turned himself into the team’s ace in the absence of the injured Garrett Crochet. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
Jake Bennett hasn’t turned himself into an ace like Gray, but he has turned himself into an unexpected key contributor at the back end of the rotation. In the midst of an outstanding season, he has struggled a touch lately, but neither he nor Chad Tracy sounds all that worried at this point. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
Speaking of aces, the Sox were scheduled to face Paul Skenes today. But Skenes, who has had a shaky season this year, is being pushed back to later this week. The Sox will instead matchup against reliever Lake Bechar in what looks like it’s going to be a bullpen game. (Rodney Knuppel, NESN)
Skenes and the Pirates won’t be in the postseason. But the Sox almost certainly will. And yesterday’s game, with Sonny Gray ceding to Erik Miller and Aroldis Chapman, offered a glimpse at what Game 1 of the Wild Card Series could look like. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)
It’s hard to look ahead to 2027 when we’ve got October baseball headed our way in 2026. But there is something worth thinking about next summer: the Sox are slated to play in the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa. They’ll take on the Royals. (Tyler Kepner, The Athletic)
That game will be on national TV — possibly on Netflix — so Dave O’Brien won’t be on the mic for NESN. But he will be on the mic for the rest of the Sox season, as he just signed a two-year extension with NESN. (Chad Finn, Boston.com)