The Red Sox are losing their grip on the season

This year was supposed to be different in Boston.

The Red Sox believed the organization turned a corner going into 2025, with team president Sam Kennedy declaring in November that the priority moving forward is "90-95 wins" and "winning the division for multiple years."

That hope is far from reality two months into the season. The Red Sox head into play Friday at 27-31, fourth in the AL East, despite playing one of the easiest schedules. They're already 9 1/2 games behind the division-leading New York Yankees and four games back of the final wild-card spot.

Boston needs to go 68-36 (.654) to finish with 95 wins.

As much as the Red Sox want to believe they're ready to contend, the 2025 team is more like the Boston clubs that occupied the bottom of the division the last three years. It's a team that still plays poor fundamentally, commits too many baserunning and defensive errors, and gets inconsistent results from its pitching staff.

The Red Sox offensive core remains a group of young players trying to learn at the highest level. The expectations for this team may be too high for the talent on the current roster. It's the reason why they're 6-15 in one-run games.

Bregman injury major blow

Alex Bregman was exactly what the Red Sox needed. His right-handed bat in the middle of the order provided balance and power. His Gold Glove solidified third base. His leadership is perfect for a youthful clubhouse.

And his long-term injury suffered last weekend deflated the team.

The Red Sox have dropped five straight games since Bregman landed on the IL with a quad injury, scoring only 10 runs over that span (five came in one game). They were walked off on back-to-back days by the Brewers.

Losing Bregman and Triston Casas to long-term injuries is a seismic blow. Any organization would struggle after losing its Opening Day No. 3 and 4 hitters long term. But there's plenty more that's gone wrong early in the season for Boston that's contributed to its frustrating start.

The front office's mishandling of moving Rafael Devers off third base in the spring was an organizational misstep, and the team's still reeling from the fallout. It spoiled what otherwise was a strong winter for Craig Breslow, Boston's chief baseball officer.

Breslow prides himself on being an executive who was a former player, but he botched the communication. Manager Alex Cora saying Devers put his glove completely away was also a mistake. It didn't take long for that decision to backfire.

Devers isn't without blame, either. Moving off third full time is best for the team and for his health. He had every right to be upset about the poor communication, but his disinterest in doing what's best for the team - even after owner John Henry flew to Kansas City to speak with him - is unacceptable.

As the team tries to piece things together on the fly, its highest-paid player doing whatever it takes to win sets the tone. Devers, who in previous years publicly challenged the front office to bring in more talent, is at least speaking with his bat, posting a 1.005 OPS over his last 53 games after a woeful opening five games (hitless with 15 strikeouts).

Trevor Story coming out of a miserable slump (.439 OPS and two extra-base hits over his last 33 games) would be helpful. The pitching staff - other than Garrett Crochet - needs to perform better, too. A lot of pressure would come off a young lineup if those things happen.

Cora's said numerous times that the organization doesn't want to throw too much at its rookies, yet that's exactly what's happening.

Kristian Campbell, April's top rookie, is hitting .120/.175/.160 in May. At a time when he should be working on keeping things simple, he's been asked to take ground balls at first base, a position he's never played.

Marcelo Mayer, in only his fifth career big-league game, hit cleanup Wednesday while also playing a secondary position.

The Red Sox have already had three different rookies hit fourth this season.

These rookies are supposed to be complementary pieces to the roster, not the focal point. The Red Sox need to make sure they're not risking the long-term development of cornerstone pieces.

Calling up top prospect Roman Anthony, who's dominating Triple-A, could help in the short term, but adding another rookie may not be the most prudent idea. The Red Sox owe it to these players to put them in positions to succeed.

And yet, as poorly as things have gone, there are still signs of life. The roster is still full of talent when playing up to expectations. The players also seem to deeply care. They're pissed off by the results, and they should be.

With a little better execution, they may be able to turn more of those one-run losses into wins. Two-thirds of the season remains, and a mediocre American League gives the Red Sox a lifeline, but they'll need to reach out and grab it.

Otherwise, maybe next year is when things turn around.