How are we feeling with one month in the books?
We’re one month into the baseball season and it’s way too early to draw conclusions about anything. But that doesn’t mean there hasn’t already been plenty to talk about. Here’s what the OTM staff is thinking on the last day of April.
Who was your favorite Red Sox player in April?
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Kristian Campbell
It’s not every day a prospect shows up and immediately makes an impact. Campbell looked like he was in over his head for exactly one day, and has been fantastic since then. He still looks like he’s getting comfortable in the field, but he should only improve with more reps. He also calls his teammates his friends, which is adorable.
— Jacob Roy
Jarren Duran
I haven’t forgotten his homophobic slur and how he (and the Red Sox) handled the aftermath towards the end of last season, but he won over my big gay heart again in April. First, there was The Clubhouse documentary. He brought tears to my eyes several times, not just for what he said, but how he said it. His openness was really something to see. And he’s magic on the bases. Alex Cora called him “the perfect player.” He stole home on Saturday, on a day when he also went 3-5 with a triple and scored two other runs as well. We’ll be talking about it for years.
— Maura McGurk
Kristian Campbell
How can you not root for this kid? He adjusted and dominated the minor leagues last year and is—so far—continuing that success in the majors.
— Mike Carlucci
Kristian Campbell
There’s always a real chance something fun is gonna happen whenever he steps into the batter’s box. What an unbelievable start he’s had; I’m so thrilled we’ve locked him up for the next few years.
— Juliet Hurwitz
Garrett Crochet
It’s nice to have an actual ace again! Also, the best is still likely to come.
— Matthew Gross
Wilyer Abreu
He’s raking to start the year, relatively speaking, tied for the team lead in home runs, and taking walks at a much higher pace than ever before in his career. Abreu being near the middle of the lineup gives the whole roster so much more depth. To have an outfielder who started the season as an afterthought perform that well is great, even if, for the time being, it does create a little logjam for Roman Anthony, who is absolutely ready for the Major Leagues.
— Dean Roussel
Trevor Story
It’s been an extremely long time since the Red Sox have had a healthy Trevor Story in the lineup and on the field. What has it yielded? Five dingers, 16 RBI, six stolen bases, and much more consistent defense at shortstop. The return has honestly been awesome to watch so far.
— Jake Reiser
Alex Bregman
Not to get too deep into known knowns, known unknowns and all that, but heading into the season I knew I didn’t know enough about Alex Bregman to fully appreciate him. Holy shit! He’s great. It’s been a long time since the Sox have had a mensch like him (this is not about his religion, but if it was, Kevin Youkilis would be in the discussion). He does it all, and he does it all very well, and hot damn it’s been awhile since we had someone to say that about.
— Bryan Joiner
Alex Bregman
The bat has been excellent, and as corny and cliche as this sounds: He seems to be a legit leader in the clubhouse. That’s what this organization needed. — Fitzy Mo Peña
Who was your least favorite Red Sox player in April?
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Blake Sabol
These damn base runners are taking all of our bases. Bring back Connor Wong.
— Jacob Roy
Blake Sabol
Bro’s wasted in the batter’s box. Narváez has more than proved himself capable of continuing to be the Sox’s backup catcher once Wong gets back.
— Juliet Hurwitz
Zack Kelly
Made major negative contributions in two loses to the minor league White Sox on April 12 and April 20th (blowing a two run lead both times), and then when he got to the actual minors, he dropped this deuce on the Worcester mound:
— Matthew Gross
No One
— Mike Carlucci
Tanner Houck
I have loved Houck since he was coming up through the farm, and think he has boundless potential. He’s kind of stunk it up so far in 2025, though, just a year after very reasonable excitement to have a strong second position in the rotation. His FIP and xERA suggest he’s gotten a bit unlucky, but he’s striking out less guys and walking more guys, significantly so compared to 2024, which is a recipe for trouble.
— Dean Roussel
Blake Sabol
Everyone above pretty much covered it. -0.2 WAR with an OPS+ of 0 flat out, Connor Wong can’t come back soon enough.
— Jake Reiser
No One
Like Mike Carlucci, I shall leave Blake Sabol in peace. I shall also give Tanner Houck a bit of earned grace, though it’s not looking good.
— Bryan Joiner
No One
My rage hasn’t quite yet boiled enough for me to get too worked up to answer this one, frankly. — Fitzy Mo Peña
What do you feel good about going forward?
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The Offense
At times, it feels like the offense is totally inept, leaving runners on base repeatedly. At the same time, the team is sixth in baseball in terms of runs per game. Rafael Devers still isn’t himself, and Triston Casas is off to another slow start. Throw in Roman Anthony later this season? Opposing pitchers are going to have a tough time.
— Jacob Roy
The American League being absolute garbage
If you go to the projected standings page on Fangraphs, not a single AL team is currently forecasted to win more than 90 games, and for good reason. This league stinks! Now of course, somebody will win more than 90 games because a couple of teams will outpace their projection, but the fact that this side of the board is lacking an apex predator gives the Red Sox more time to slowly grow into whatever team they’re going to become.
So far, Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Kutter Crawford, Lucas Giolito and Masataka Yoshida have played in a combined zero major league games in 2025 and Brayan Bello has made just two starts. We won’t have a true grasp on what the 2025 Red Sox are like until later this summer, and luckily for them, the 2025 American League is in a state of anarchy.
— Matthew Gross
The Baserunning
Jarren Duran’s theft of home is still playing in my head. Keep it coming. Bring on the chaos.
— Maura McGurk
The Kids
Wilyer Abreu (2024 Rookie of the Year finalist) got the season started while Devers was cold. Kristian Campbell won a job out of spring training and doesn’t look lost. Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are tearing up Triple-A. This year they won’t be saying “our big trade is a guy coming off the IL.” It’ll be another promotion.
— Mike Carlucci
Alex Bregman
Historically, Bregman’s been slow to warm up as the season has started, but he’s already been doing quite well with the Sox, with a .331 average, 6 homers over 31 games, and a .971 OPS at the time of me writing this. He’s been a fantastic fit with this ball club and has stepped up when the team has been down, such as the April 15th game. If he keeps clicking, we’re in good hands.
— Juliet Hurwitz
Overall Speed
Compare where this lineup is in guys that can run compared to four years ago, and you’ll be astounded. Campbell, Story, Hamilton, Rafaela… even Wong is known to swipe a few or extend some plays. For reference, Christian Vazquez and Alex Verdugo led the team in stolen bases in 2021. Seriously. The entire team had 56 all season. They have 24 in the first month, including Jarren Duran’s incredible feat of stealing home. Not to mention, Rafaela has some web gems attributed by his ability to get to balls.
— Dean Roussel
The Kids Part 2
Mike nails this one on the head for me. Kristian Campbell may in fact be the best second baseman in the AL from the jump, which impresses me beyond belief. Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer each look like men against boys in AAA and just need the opportunity to get called up. Yeah, the Red Sox are covered.
— Jake Reiser
Everything Except Aroldis Chapman
No complaints. Except the one.
— Bryan Joiner
The Offense
A lot of guys have already taken big strides, Devers has come out of his early season funk with an OPS+ over 115, and Jarren Duran is heating up. Just need Casas to get going more consistently (and I think he will).
— Fitzy Mo Peña
What are you worried about going forward?
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The bullpen
Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Whitlock, and Justin Slaten have been excellent, but you need more than three arms to support a bullpen. Greg Weissert has pitched well but has been streaky in the past. Liam Hendriks is a name to dream on, but pitching the 9th inning in a ten-run game, along with his decreased velocity, isn’t the most encouraging sign. An injury or two to the group could be a disaster for the pen. (Put Kutter Crawford in the bullpen and see what happens. Let’s get weird.)
— Jacob Roy
Yup, the bullpen
— Maura McGurk
Starting Rotation
Just look west to the Dodgers. It’s possible that no amount of pitchers is enough and the Sox are counting on injury returns, a Tanner Houck who has been lost, and even an ace with only one big league season under his belt.
— Mike Carlucci
Tanner Houck
There’s so much to dislike here! The disastrous start in Tampa, the way his struggles in the second half of last season flowed into spring training which flowed into April. The way hitters look so comfortable against him that they could bring a sofa and and a bowl of popcorn to the plate.
He turns 29 in June and needs to turn things around quick. If he doesn’t, he might get ousted from the rotation.
— Matthew Gross
Alex Bregman
And this isn’t an indictment on Bregman at all. He’s been a fantastic addition to this deep lineup and while his third base play leaves a little something to be desired defensively, this team has recently had a lot more to worry about. But if he keeps this up, at age 31, there’s no chance he stays in Boston with his option, and teams will pay him for a more lucrative five-year-deal, a duration I’d be a bit apprehensive to give Bregman. In that situation, Devers shifts back to third, which I’d be just as uneasy about, or perhaps a certain upcoming prospect takes the helm. Worried is the word, but it’s more caution and recognition that Bregman does make a difference on this team and not wanting to lose him so quickly than anything else.
— Dean Roussel
Tanner Houck
I wonder how true the rumors of him tipping his pitches are. For how spectacular he looked last season, he’s been almost a guaranteed loss every time he takes the bump in 2025. When one project gets solved, another grows for The Run Prevention Unit, and Andrew Bailey has a very large one to work with here in Houck.
— Jake Reiser
Aroldis Chapman
The bad feeling hasn’t gone away.
— Bryan Joiner
Aroldis Chapman
I fear that the other shoe will drop, but not before he walks seven straight guys.
— Fitzy Mo Peña
What was your favorite game or moment?
Photo by Brian Fluharty/Getty Images
The nightcap of the doubleheader against the Guardians
Hands down, this game was everything. It was a cathartic release after the day’s really disappointing early game. And it felt like one of the more complete games so far in this young season—the offense was firing, and the pitchers (starters and relievers) did their jobs really well. Nice effort from Walker Buehler, as we’re starting to expect. And of course, Jarren Duran’s big moment on the basepaths. His other accomplishments won’t be remembered in light of his theft of home, but he also took second on a wild pitch, had three hits, including a triple, and scored three times. Major emoji heart eyes.
— Maura McGurk
The April 22nd Game against Seattle
I’m biased because I was there for that one, but seeing the Casas three-run homer, watching Bello perform better than expected in his first game back, witnessing Bregman go crazy, and every other fun thing that happened was a true joy. Plus that was a game we were initially losing, so to come back from that was fantastic. For the most part, the game showed the 2025 Red Sox at their best in their own ballpark.
— Juliet Hurwitz
The 1-0 win over the Rays in Tampa on April 16th
Alex Bregman was on paternity leave, Kristian Campbell had the day off, Sean Newcomb was on the mound, Aroldis Chapman was unavailable, and there was an empty day on the calendar lurking on the 17th after the flight home. This was a scheduled loss within a 162-game season if there ever was one. A perfect time for everybody to let go of the rope and regroup on Friday when they returned home, and yet they somehow stole it!
Aside from the fact that this is exactly the type of beautifully stupid game the Rays usually win and it was nice to give them a taste of their own medicine, it was also a small signal that the “give a crap” meter runs pretty high in this locker room. That road trip, as stinky as it was, had a chance to be a flaming disaster, and part of the reason it wasn’t is because it ended on this awkward high note.
— Matthew Gross
The whole doubleheader against the Cardinals
Sorry to name two games here. Fans were already starting to count the Red Sox out even in a weak division. Then, Rafael Devers FINALLY hits his first home run of the season, and, later on Wilyer Abreu walks it off. And in the night cap, the Red Sox ran up the scoreboard to 18 runs behind a strong Hunter Dobbins debut… and Devers absolutely raked in that game, too. So, too, did Bregman, driving in six runs and proving that there is some synergy to this lineup, after all. (We won’t talk about the 1.3 runs a game in the following week, though.)
— Dean Roussel
Opening Day at Fenway vs the Cardinals
I’ll finish off most of the series Dean mentions above with the very first game at Fenway Park in 2025. The vibes were high—they honored the 1975 squad pre-game, Garrett Crochet’s extension press conference happened earlier that morning, and how else were we rewarded as fans? A 5-0 lead from the jump thanks to dingers from Trevor Story and Wilyer Abreu, a decent enough outing from Walker Buehler, and going 7-for-14 with RISP overall to power through a great victory.
— Jake Reiser
Sunday’s Getaway Game vs Cleveland
Plenty of recency/I recapped it so I’m partial to it bias, but it was the ideal Sunday smackdown to win the series and the type of game winning teams notch without breaking a sweat.
— Bryan Joiner
The Cardinals Doubleheader
Yeah, what Dean said. It gave us the entire spectrum of emotions—from despair, to hope, to exhilaration. One comeback win and one spankin’, that’s poetic.
— Fitzy Mo Peña
After one month, are you going to change your preseason prediction?
I believe I said they’d win the World Series. So hell no, I’m not changing that.
— Jacob Roy
One of my repeated predictions was that the needle arts would take off in Red Sox Nation after we signed—and then extended!—Garrett Crochet. I personally learned some stitches and crocheted a few things over the offseason, and I keep hearing about various crochet projects on podcasts and social media, so I was right…but that feels like a hollow victory when Jim Rice, my longtime favorite, invites some other crocheting fan into the booth! I’m not gonna lie: this stings. Do you think it would help if I sent him a coaster I made?
— Maura McGurk
I said they’d have a .500 April that would hold back the year-over-year progress a bit, which has pretty much happened. Does 87 wins feel low? A .533 winning percentage (what they’re at now) over 162 games is 86 wins. If they take a step forward with health and call-ups I’m happy to be wrong.
— Mike Carlucci
I had the Sox in first place in the AL East. There’s still plenty of time for that. I’m happy enough that we’re ending the month in second place, and with the second-best record in the American League. If the rest of the American League remains this garbage, there’s a lot of hope for the future of this season.
— Juliet Hurwitz
I’m usually the sour grapes guy when it comes to outlook on the OTM staff. I had the Red Sox around that 84-86 win mark, and that gets them a playoff berth this year, although maybe not a division win, because I see Baltimore really stepping on the gas in the summer. In October, teams get streaky and truly everyone’s got a puncher’s chance at a World Series. I’m very comfortable with sticking with that above prediction given how iffy this whole AL East Division looks this year. And it’s a win-win: if it’s more than that, great; if that prediction falls a bit short, at least we can get excited about having a bonafide ace, some exciting prospects performing, and watching some meaningful games with my beverage squarely on a crocheted Maura McGurk coaster.
— Dean Roussel
The only thing I’d change is expected wins, bringing it down to 88 or 89 tallies, but the end result stays the same for me. This Red Sox team is much better than it was last season, and with the quality of competition in the AL falling to much more meet their level, it’s an opportunity this team can really pounce on to return to the postseason in style.
— Jake Reiser
No and you can’t make me.
— Bryan Joiner
I will accept the results of this election prediction (a wild card berth) if I we win.
— Fitzy Mo Peña