The Boston Red Sox had their own version of Groundhog Day in the American League Wild Card playoff against the New York Yankees. The two teams met in the same round of the postseason two years in a row, and the Red Sox ended up on the losing end for the second straight year.

In the 2025 meeting at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox were able to win the opener of the series behind the dominant pitching of Garrett Crochet, but the Yankees shut down the Red Sox batting order in Games 2 and 3.

This year's loss in the Bronx was even more decisive. Likely Cy Young Award winner Cam Schlittler dominated the Red Sox lineup in Game 1 and Boston dropped a humiliating 9-0 decision. The second game was not much better as Max Fried prevented the Red Sox from mounting much of an attack. The Yankees won the second game by a 9-2 score.

There was little doubt that the Yankees were the better team and deserved to move on to the divisional round of the postseason. They will face the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays in a best of 5 series.

Hot streak turned Red Sox into a playoff team

The Red Sox had one of the strangest seasons in recent memory. They were brutal in the first half of the year and they were in a battle with the Los Angeles Angels for the worst record in the American League. Their season suddenly turned around with a remarkable streak that saw the Red Sox go 32-5 during the middle of the season. They had a 15-game winning streak and another 9-game streak during that remarkable run.

In addition to that remarkable run that saw them go from 12 games under .500 to 15 games over the break-even mark, they swept series against first-place teams including the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Rays.

While the Red Sox were dependent on several of their best players including Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela, manager Chad Tracy got contributions from a number of bench players who stepped up and filled unexpected roles. Players like Mickey Gasper, Nate Eaton, Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler also got key hits as the Red Sox were able to register multiple come-from-behind victories.

Starting pitchers Sonny Gray, Payton Tolle and Ranger Suarez were able to limit opposing lineups, and relief pitchers Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock and Tayron Guerrero were able to shut down opponents at the most critical moments.

As the hot streak came to an end, injured players like Trevor Story and Roman Anthony were able to return after missing more than half the season. Neither of those players were able to help the Red Sox dominate the way they had during the middle of the season. The Red Sox also added highly touted catcher Adley Rutschman in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles at the deadline, but the switch hitter's contribution was minimal

By the end of the season, the Red Sox were more like the struggling team they were in the first part of the season than they were during their hot streak.

The Red Sox need to make key changes in the offseason.

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Bring in a new shortstop to replace Story

Story has played 11 years in the Major Leagues, and the 34-year-old has played with the Red Sox during the last five seasons. Most of his time in Boston has seen Story battle injuries. He played a full season in 2025 when he slashed .263/.308/.433 with 25 home runs, 96 runs batted in and 31 stolen bases in 32 attempts.

However, Story has struggled to stay healthy during the rest of his tenure. Additionally, he has the tendency to strikeout because he falls behind in the count and then will swing at pitches outside the zone once he has two strikes.

While he has one more year on his contract, the Red Sox need to move on from Story and find another shortstop. They have a top prospect in Franklin Arias who could be ready in 2028, but they need to find a legitimate shortstop who is dependable.

Breslow did not do his part last offseason in bringing in enough power to give the Red Sox a formidable lineup. They had Alex Bregman in 2025 and he should have been brought back, but they did not match the contract the Chicago Cubs gave him.

The Red Sox were also expected to make a bid for slugger Pete Alonso, but they did not make a competitive bid and the ex-New York Met ended up leading the American League with 43 home runs and 113 RBI after signing with the Orioles.

Breslow needs to wake up and realize that the Red Sox don't have the talent to compete with teams like the Yankees and Rays.

That should not be the case. The Red Sox are a major market team and they have to step up and act like it. They need to move on from Story, bring in some home run power and change their money-saving philosophy that has prevented them from becoming legitimate championship contenders.