Underrated Player of the Year: 2025

In this series, I look at one player per year from 1991-the present who came out of nowhere or had a great year that no one really noticed or expected.

I wrestled with this choice for a little while.  I was originally going to pick Carlos Narvaez, but I did discuss his year a little bit in the Season in Review post.  Ultimately, what clinched this for Romy was the fact that he had been placed on release waivers by the White Sox the previous year.  The WHITE SOX.  The team that finished 61-101 in 2023 and would go on to go 41-121 in 2024 after releasing Gonzalez.  That team thought he was not good enough to stay on their team.

Gonzalez had a nice 2024 season with the Red Sox, but he was really good in 2025.  The utility man split most of his time between first and second base, but also played some third and DH as well.  He made it into 96 games with 341 plate appearances and had the highest batting average on the team.  That still means something to me.  He hit .305/.343/.483, scoring 47 runs and knocking 23 doubles, three triples and nine home runs.  He also had 53 RBIs and stole six bases.  

When the Red Sox had to face left-handed pitching, they had a big advantage by plugging Gonzalez and Rob Refsnyder into the lineup.  Gonzalez hit .331/.378/.600 with seven of his home runs against southpaws.  

Gonzalez is exactly the kind of player it is very helpful to have as a role player.  He can play a variety of positions and he is great against left-handed pitching.  He is a proven contact hitter and even has good speed.  He's not going to blow you away, but he does a lot of little things that help win ball games.

Season in Review: 2025

2025 saw the Red Sox make it back to the postseason for the first time since 2021.  They did not last long as they were bounced by the hated Yankees two games to one in the AL Wild Card Series.  The team finished third in the AL East with a record of 89-73, but it was a year marked with turmoil.  The biggest issue was the trade of star Rafael Devers.  Despite that, the team came together and had a big second half to capture one of the Wild Card spots.

FIVE FAVORITE PLAYERS

Ceddanne Rafaela

Rafaela became my favorite player in 2025, primarily as a result of the trade of Rafael Devers.  2025 saw him settle in as the center fielder after splitting the 2024 season between center field and shortstop.  He did play second base for chunk of the season, but won the Gold Glove for his play in center.  A late season slump tempered his numbers somewhat, but he hit .249/.295/.414 with 34 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 63 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  He showed a flair for dramatic hits with a couple walkoff homers and a walkoff triple that sent the team into the postseason.

Wilyer Abreu

Abreu won his second Gold Glove Award in 2025 and solidified his status as the best defensive right fielder in the league.  He also had a very good season at the plate, building on his strong rookie season in 2024.  He was second on the team with 22 home runs and hit .247/.317/.469 with 17 doubles, 69 RBIs and six stolen bases.  He played in only 115 games due to injury, but showed he is a dynamic player when healthy.

Trevor Story

Finally fully healthy for a full season for the first time since signing a lucrative free agent contract with the Red Sox, Story turned into a team leader.  He led the team with 25 home runs, 96 RBIs, 91 runs scored, 161 hits and 31 stolen bases while hitting .263/.308/.433.  He played great defense at shortstop until the last few weeks of the season when he seemingly developed a minor form of the yips resulting in a bunch of throwing errors.  Story continued his hot hitting into the postseason as well.  This was the player the Red Sox thought they were getting when he was signed prior to the 2022 season.

Brayan Bello

Bello had a very good season in 2025, finally looking like the pitcher that he was hoped to be when the Red Sox rewarded him with a big extension prior to the 2024 season.  He finished with an 11-9 record and a nifty 3.35 ERA over 166.2 innings.  He is not a big strikeout pitcher, instead inducing a lot of weak contact.  He notched 124 strikeouts with 59 walks.  

Jarren Duran

He was not quite as good as he had been in 2024 when Duran was one of the best players in the league, but he still turned in a productive season.  He led the league with 13 triples and the team with 41 doubles while hitting .256/.332/.442.  He was second on the team with 24 stolen bases, 86 runs scored and 84 RBIs while contributing 16 home runs.  

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Garrett Whitlock

Whitlock continued to be a force in the back end of the Red Sox bullpen.  He turned in a phenomenal season, going 7-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 62 games, pitching 72 innings.  He struck out 91 batters while walking 24 and picked up a save.  Whitlock did a terrific job of bridging the gap to the team's excellent closer.

Lucas Giolito

Officially, Giolito will go down as a One-Year Wonder, this despite actually signing with the Red Sox prior to the 2024 season, but he was injured all year that year.  Giolito came back strong though with a record of 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 145 innings pitched.  He struck out 121 and walked 56 in 26 games pitched.  

Rob Refsnyder

Designated lefty masher Refsnyder had another productive season as a role player in 2025.  He played in 70 games, hitting .269/.354/.484 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs.  He played impressive defense in the outfield and hit .302/.399/.560 with seven home runs against lefties.  Unfortunately, 2025 was his last season in Boston.  

FAVORITE ACQUISITIONS

Garrett Crochet

The Red Sox gave up a haul to get emerging southpaw starter Crochet from the White Sox, but it was worth it.  Crochet finished second in the Cy Young vote and eighth in the MVP race while starting the All Star Game.  He led the league in shutouts, innings pitched (205.1) and strikeouts (255), as well as strikeouts per nine innings (11.2).  He had a 2.59 ERA and a record of 18-5.  It was very reminiscent of another trade with the White Sox to acquire a lefty starter in Chris Sale.

Alex Bregman

Signing Bregman as a free agent was such an obvious fit that it was amazing it took so long for it to occur, but it also led to a lot of issues with incumbent third-baseman Rafael Devers.  Bregman had some injury issues, but was very good when he was healthy.  He hit .273/.360/.462 with 28 doubles, 18 home runs and 62 RBIs.  He was named to the All Star team.  Unfortunately, it would be Bregman's only season with the Red Sox.

Aroldis Chapman

Like Crochet and Bregman, Chapman was also an All Star in his first season with the Red Sox.  The likely future Hall of Famer had one of the greatest seasons of his career in 2025, finishing with a 5-3 record with a mind-blowing 1.17 ERA and 85 strikeouts versus just 15 walks in 61.1 innings pitched.  He notched 31 saves.  Chapman continues in a line of potential future Hall of Fame closers acquired by the Red Sox over the last ten years, joining Craig Kimbrel and Kenley Jansen.

FAVORITE MIDSEASON ACQUISITIONS

Steven Matz

There's not much to choose from here and it is annoying that there are no Red Sox cards of most of the midseason acquisitions (and I am definitely not going to use Dustin May).  Matz cost the Red Sox slugging prospect Blaze Jordan, but gave the team 21 games as a lefty reliever with a 2.08 ERA.  He struck out 12 and walked just two in 21.2 innings pitched and even picked up a save.

Nathaniel Lowe

Earlier in the season, habitually wrong pundit Jim Bowden predicted Lowe would be traded to the Red Sox in exchange for prized prospect Payton Tolle.  Thank goodness that didn't happen.  Lowe was actually picked up off of waivers and had a nice run in Boston.  He hit .280/.370/.420 with a couple homers and 16 RBIs in 34 games.  

FAVORITE ROOKIES

Roman Anthony

A lot is expected of Anthony, but he had a phenomenal start to his career in 2025, finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year vote despite playing in just 71 games before being shut down due to injury.  Anthony hit .292/.396/.463 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs, also contributing 18 doubles and four stolen bases while playing steady defense.  

Carlos Narvaez

Narvaez's contributions were kind of overshadowed by Anthony, but he had a very impressive rookie season of his own.  He was acquired in a trade with the Yankees prior to the season and became the primary catcher, playing great defense and hitting .241/.306/.419 with 27 doubles, 15 homers and 50 RBIs.  He finished eighth in the Rookie of the Year vote.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

Connor Wong

After a surprisingly good 2024 season at the plate, Wong took a major step backwards in 2025.  It was revealed after the season that he had a nagging hand injury, but he had an atrocious year at the plate.  He hit just .190/.262/.238 with eight doubles, zero home runs, seven RBIs and two stolen bases.  It looked for a time that his time in Boston was over.  

Kristian Campbell

Campbell was one of Boston's top three prospects entering the 2025 season and shockingly made the team out of Spring Training.  He started off hot too, but cooled down quickly and could not get going again.  He finished with a line of .223/.319/.345 with six homers and 21 RBIs.  His defense was shaky and he was out of the Majors by June and has yet to make it back.

Walker Buehler

Not all of the Red Sox offseason moves worked out.  Buehler was brutally bad for Boston.  He appeared in 23 games, pitching 112.1 innings to an ERA of 5.45 and a record of 7-7.  He struck out 84 and walked 55 and had a WHIP of 1.558.  It was a shockingly bad performance for a pitcher who had helped the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series a few months prior.  Boston cut bait and he ended up in Philadelphia.

Rafael Devers

Devers is not here because he played poorly.  On the contrary, after a brutal start to the season, he was having one of his greatest seasons, but his attitude, particularly sulking after being unseated at third base and asked to move first to DH and then to first base, led to the Red Sox making a rushed trade to get out from under his contract.  He was hitting .272/.401/.504 with 15 homers and 58 RBIs at the time of the trade.  

POSTSEASON HERO

Garrett Crochet

There are not too many options here as the offense fell completely flat and Brayan Bello was terrible in the postseason.  Crochet though, built upon his huge regular season and struck out 11 Yankees in 7.2 innings while giving up just one run in his Game 1 victory.  Boston was handicapped by a number of major injuries to key players though and were not able to build on it.

What the Hell is Happening?

As of the time I am writing this, the Red Sox had a rather eventful day. After a horrific four-game losing streak, the bats came to life in a 17-1 drubbing of the Orioles that included a ten-run ninth inning featuring a grand slam from Andruw Monasterio and home runs by Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin, the major offensive additions from the offseason. But the team didn't have time to relax as manager Alex Cora and coaches Pete Fatse, Ramon Vazquez, Kyle Hudson, Dillon Lawson and Joe Cronin (not that one) were fired. Jason Varitek was also reassigned. That's a significant amount of the coaching staff. The team has gotten off to a dreadful start with almost everyone underperforming expectations, so, quite frankly, a change was needed. I have not been pleased with the hitting in particular the last few seasons, so I was not surprised to see Fatse go. Cora was a surprise.

The problem is that the major issue is the construction of the roster in the first place, in particular the offense. I wrote a long piece last year about the trade of Rafael Devers and discussing the outfield situation. Both of those issues are still problematic.

My major issue with the trade of Devers was the unimpressive return. Boston received Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, James Tibbs III, and Jose Bello. Of those four, only Bello is still in the system and he's 20 and in A-ball, so he is still a ways away. Tibbs was traded for Dustin May last trading deadline and May left as a free agent after the season. Hicks was traded to the White Sox for minor league pitcher Gage Ziehl. Harrison was part of the package sent to Milwaukee for Durbin and Monasterio, as well as Anthony Seigler. So, that is not particularly encouraging. Maybe some of these players still have a chance to make an impact.

The other issue was the outfield situation. The Red Sox had a well-known logjam in the outfield with Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony and Masataka Yoshida, as well as Kristian Campbell in the minors. They HAD to trade someone to ease the logjam. They didn't. Now, they have a problem because someone has to sit in every game. Duran seemed like the ideal candidate for a trade and that didn't happen. The problem with this is that each of these guys should be a starter and players play best when they have a defined role. Having to sit one of these guys every game most likely has an impact on their mental readiness to play. It is likely part of the reason they are almost all struggling.

Red Sox CBO Craig Breslow is generally quite good at building the pitching side of the roster, he has brought in Garrett Crochet, Ranger Suarez, Aroldis Chapman and helped produce a pitching development program that has had some big impact with the emergence of Connelly Early and possible future contributors Payton Tolle, Eduardo Rivera, Kyson Witherspoon, Juan Valera and others. But he does not have a clear plan for the offense. That has become painfully obvious over the last year: trading Devers and not getting anything in return, losing Alex Bregman as a free agent, and not pursuing Pete Alonso, Bo Bichette or Eugenio Suarez. Conteras is a nice addition, but Durbin is not really moving the needle at this time. And that led to Anthony being anointed the team's savior, way too much pressure for a 22-year-old coming off an injury.

The team has also struggled in developing hitters. Campbell arrived to big fanfare last season then struggled badly and hasn't been in the Majors since last summer. Marcelo Mayer has struggled to catch up to big-league pitching. Even Anthony has not been the same hitter this year. Those three were supposed to be the cornerstones of the team's offense and none of them are performing to expectations. One has to wonder what exactly is going wrong here. This is one of the reasons I am not at all surprised to see Fatse get the axe.

It will be interesting to see where the team goes from here. One thing I can say is that I do not believe the changes are done. I expect some player personnel moves. If the team doesn't right the ship, most of the veterans will be out the door. Former WooSox manager Chad Tracy will be given the reins. I appreciate everything Cora did for the Red Sox, but it seemed like he did not have it this year and it was probably time for a change.

Huge Catch-Up Post

I am way behind.  Maybe I will throw everything together at once.  Let's do something a bit different and do a count for how many of each player are in this huge post.  It probably will not be a surprise who wins.

1.  Brayan Bello.  Card #1.  Bello imploded in his postseason start last year and was the subject of trade rumors all winter.  He had a good year last year and remains a break-out candidate, but it is becoming increasingly likely that this is just who he is.

2.  Nick Pivetta.  Card #1.  Pivetta had a nice season for San Diego last year.  I always thought he was capable of that.

3.  Marcelo Mayer.  Card #1.  Mayer could win either the second base or third base spot with a strong spring.

4.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #1 (of likely many).  I went through a brief phase recently of trying to get each of the animal patterns for 2023 Leaf Exotic.  This is the clown fish pattern.  You know, Nemo.

5.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #2.  This was a quick one-for-one trade on the TCDB forum.

6.  Xander Bogaerts.  Card #1.  Bogaerts looks like one of the worst contracts going right now.  He still has an outside shot at building to a Hall of Fame career though.  He should have never been allowed to leave Boston.

7.  Dustin Pedroia.  Card #1.  Speaking of outside shots at the Hall of Fame.  I was pleasantly surprised by Pedroia's gains this year.  It's going to take awhile, but he could get in some day.

8.  Pedro Martinez.  Card #1.  Pedro is of course, already in.

9.  Tris Speaker.  Card #1.  So is Speaker.

10.  Triston Casas.  Card #1.  I have no idea what Boston is going to do with Casas this year.  They never traded an outfielder, so they still have Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela in the outfield and DH, plus Masataka Yoshida.  And now Willson Contreras at first base.

11.  Walker Buehler.  Card #1.  Man, what a disaster Buehler was in Boston.  That was just frustrating.  I like the guy, but he did very little in Boston.  A 5.45 ERA is just not getting it done.

12.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #3.  Still the only guy with multiple cards.  So far.

13.  John Schreiber.  Card #1.  I was disappointed when Boston traded Schreiber.  At least he finally has a card with the Red Sox.

14.  Dom DiMaggio.  Card #1.  At one point, there was some talk about him getting elected to the Hall via the Veterans Committee.  Unfortunately, they never seemed to have the right mix of voting members to do so, not like the all the Giants players elected in the 60's and 70's.

15.  Jose Peraza.  Card #1.  Like Buehler, Peraza was a one-year wonder for a reason, he was very bad in Boston.  He had a 64 OPS+.  That is simply awful.

16.  Connor Wong.  Card #1.  I still get Wong cards on occasion, but his year was so bad last year that I have lost a lot of enthusiasm for it.  It came out that he was dealing with injuries all year long, so let's see if he rebounds this year before I decide whether to move on entirely, not that I would ever get rid of my cards of him.

17.  Mookie Betts.  Card #1.  These cards came from a Topps Update blaster.  Mookie is, to date, the last Red Sox player to win MVP.  He had a phenomenal 2018 season in which he won the batting title and became Boston's second 30/30 man.

18.  Kristian Campbell.  Card #1.  Another player seemingly left out in the cold.  He was so good early last season that he was rewarded with a big contract, then he struggled and was sent back to the minors.  I have no idea where he starts this season.

19.  Walker Buehler.  Card #2.  Finally, a player besides Ceddanne Rafaela gets a second card.

20.  Marcelo Mayer.  Card #2.  

21.  Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer.  Card #2 for Campbell, Card #3 for Mayer.  Mayer has tied Rafaela.  For now.

22.  Kristian Campbell.  Card #3.  And now there is a three-man race.  For now.

23.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #4.  Just when there was a bit of a race, it looks like here is where Rafaela pulls way ahead.  I considered focusing on Prizm parallels for a bit too.

24.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #5.

25.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #6.  This is the Zebra Prizm card.  I love this one.

26.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #7.

27.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #8.  I love the red, white and blue of this card.

28.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #9.

29.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #10.  I squeezed the A&G mini in here.

30.  Kristian Campbell.  Card #4.  He's not giving in yet.

31.  Franklin Arias.  Card #1.  Arias is really high on some top prospect lists.  Keith Law has him at #12.  He's still pretty low in the minors for me to get that excited about him yet, but he looks pretty good.

32.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #11.  Another Prizm parallel.

33.  David Price.  Card #1.  I still think he should have been the World Series MVP in 2018.

34.  J.D. Martinez.  Card #1.  This trade was great because it contained four of these cards that were only available in National Trading Card Day packs at Fenway.  I like in Nebraska so I couldn't exactly run over and get them.

35.  Willy Mota.  Card #1.  It also included this card which was only available in special complete sets from Topps along with four other rookie cards.  Mota never made the Majors.

36.  Steve Pearce.  Card #1.  I don't mean to disparage what Pearce did in the World Series when I say Price should have won it, Pearce was awesome.  

37.  David Price.  Card #2.

38.  Chris Sale.  Card #1.  Man, that Chris Sale trade looks awful.  Boston never got anything out of Vaughn Grissom and then traded him to the Angels for a prospect over the winter.  

39.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #12.  Will anyone even come close?

40.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #13.

41.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #14.

42.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #15.

43.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #16.

44.  Danny Janzen.  Card #1.  Yet another card celebrating his unique achievement of playing in the same game with both teams.

45.  Kutter Crawford.  Card #1.  Crawford is another player seemingly left behind.  He was decent in 2024, but missed all of 2025 with injuries, and now has to find playing time.

46.  Tris Speaker.  Card #2.

47.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #17.  He's running away with it.

48.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #18.

49.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #19.

50.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #20.

51.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #21.

52.  Masataka Yoshida.  Card #1.  I like Yoshida.  I hope he finds a way to get some playing time.  When he was finally healthy last season, he hit really well.  

53.  Caleb Hamilton.  Card #1.  Hamilton played four games with Boston, without a hit.

54.  Bobby Doerr.  Card #1.  A Hall of Famer who got in via the Veterans Committee for the Red Sox.

55.  Chris Sale.  Card #2.

56.  Trevor Story.  Card #1.  Story had a weird issue on defense late in the season that took him out of the running for Gold Glove.  It seemed more mental than anything, almost like the yips.

57.  Brayan Bello.  Card #2.

58.  Marcus Wilson.  Card #1.  Wilson never played for the Red Sox.  He was the return they got when Blake Swihart was traded to Arizona.  He appeared in a handful of games for the Mariners.

59.  Alex Verdugo.  Card #1.

60.  Alex Verdugo.  Card #2.

61.  Alex Verdugo.  Card #3.  Verdugo is making a push..

62.  Jeter Downs.  Card #1.  I think this trader was making fun of me sending Verdugo and Downs.  I just needed Connor Wong to complete the trifecta of the Mookie Betts trade.

63.  Luis Tiant.  Card #1.  A player that should be elected to the Hall of Fame.

64.  Nomar Garciaparra.  Card #1.  I am curious to see how he would do if he was on an Eras Committee ballot.

65.  J.D. Martinez.  Card #2.

66.  Connor Seabold.  Card #1.  Wrong Connor.

67.  Masataka Yoshida.  Card #2.

68.  Bobby Doerr.  Card #2.

69.  Bobby Doerr.  Card #3.  I have no idea what these cards are, they are kind of ugly.

70.  Cy Young.  Card #1.

71.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #22.  At this point, the interesting race is for second place.

72.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #23.

73.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #24.

74.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #25.

75.  Ted Williams.  Card #1.  Williams was an advocate for Dom DiMaggio getting in to the Hall, but he never had the right votes to do so.

76.  David Ortiz.  Card #1.  This is seriously the first Big Papi in this post?

77.  Wade Boggs.  Card #1.

78.  Jarren Duran.  Card #1.  A lot of weird players appearing for the first time finally.

79.  Masataka Yoshida.  Card #3.  Puts him in a big tie for third.

80.  Alex Bregman.  Card #1.  I have a lot of thoughts about what happened with Bregman, most of them not good.  I might get into that at some point in the future.  Boston screwed up, but I was never a huge fan of Bregman in the first place.

81.  Tanner Houck.  Card #1.  He was just an All Star in 2024, now his future looks really murky.

82.  Marcelo Mayer.  Card #4.  Moving into a tie for second with Kristian Campbell.

83.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #26.  A rare appearance in a trade.

84.  Garrett Crochet.  Card #1.  Crochet is kind of weirdly underrepresented in my collection right now.  I expect that to change very soon.

85.  Dwight Evans.  Card #1.  Another guy I would like to see get in to the Hall of Fame, and he should be in.

86.  Nomar Garciaparra.  Card #2.

87.  Kristian Campbell.  Card #5.  He moves back into sole possession of second place.

88.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #27.  I kept trying to trade for this card and finally gave up and bought it.

89.  Alex Bregman.  Card #2.

90.  Marcelo Mayer.  Card #5.  Moving back into a tie for second place.

91.  Mickey Gasper.  Card #1.  My first Gasper card, he played in a handful of games without a hit for Boston in 2024, played a bit more with the Twins last year, was released and is back in the Red Sox organization this year.

92.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Card #28.

93.  Chase Shugart.  Card #1.  Also, my first Shugart card.  He had a 4.15 ERA in six games for Boston in 2024 and had a nice year for the Pirates last year.

94.  Hirokazu Sawamura.  Card #1.  I always like Sawamura.  I wish he had stuck around longer.

95.  Alex Verdugo.  Card #4.  Still hanging in the race.

96.  Ted Williams.  Card #2.

97.  Trevor Story.  Card #2.

98.  J.D. Martinez.  Card #3.  Little surprised he's not higher given how often he appears in my trade packages.

99.  Chris Sale.  Card #3.  Same here.

100.  Luis Guerrero.  Card #1.  He was traded to Tampa Bay this offseason for a utility player.  Watch him become their closer.

101.  Kristian Campbell.  Card #6.  Back in sole possession of second place.

102.  Masataka Yoshida.  Card #4.  Don't sleep on him yet.

103.  Blake Loubier.  Card #1.  I don't even know who this is.

104.  Bobby Dalbec.  Card #1.

105.  Pedro Martinez.  Card #2.  

106.  Brandon Walter.  Card #1.

107.  Rafael Devers.  Card #1.  Weird that this is his first appearance, but I definitely started limiting his cards after he was traded away.  I hate that trade more and more now.  I will get into that later.

108.  Nick Pivetta.  Card #2.

109.  Bobby Dalbec.  Card #2.

110.  Rafael Devers.  Card #2.  Making a late push.

111.  Rafael Devers.  Card #3.

112.   Masataka Yoshida.  Card #5.

113.  Rafael Devers/Wade Boggs.  Card #4 for Devers, #2 for Boggs.  Yes, Boggs is on the back.

114.  Triston Casas.  Card #2.

115.  Masataka Yoshida.  Card #6.  Tied with Campbell for second place.

116.  J.D. Martinez.  Card #4.

117.  Jose Iglesias.  Card #2.

118.  Enrique Hernandez.  Card #1.  One of the heroes of the 2021 season.

119.  Ryan Weber.  Card #1.  I'm going to have to remember Weber for the Immaculate Grid.  Braves, Mariners, Rays, Red Sox, Brewers and Yankees.

120.  Alex Verdugo.  Card #5.

121.  Masataka Yoshida.  Card #7.  Taking the lead.  This is a blaster of 2026 Topps, my first.

122.  Garrett Crochet.  Card #2.

123.  David Ortiz.  Card #2.  Pulled an insert.  I love the 1991 design because those were my first packs.

124.  Kristian Campbell.  Card #7.  Tied again.

125.  Lucas Giolito.  Card #1.  

And that's it.

So, in first place was obviously Ceddanne Rafaela, who didn't appear in the last five scans, but had such a commanding lead no one was coming close.  He finished at 28.  Masataka Yoshida and Kristian Campbell tied for second place with seven, and neither of them is assured a spot on the roster coming into the season.  Marcelo Mayer and Alex Verdugo, of all people, tied for third at five cards each.  That was not as exciting as I had hoped it would be.  

But at least I am now caught up.

2026 Hall of Fame Results

First of all, congratulations to Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones on their election to the Hall of Fame.  It is well-deserved.  They will join Jeff Kent as the three players elected to the Hall this year.  I expect Kent to have a Giants cap on his plaque, Beltran with the Mets and Jones with the Braves.  

Now, I did want to raise a little bit of a gripe.  Beltran was the face of the Astros cheating scandal of 2017.  For him to get in and the PED guys to still be on the outside looking in, is kind of a ridiculous.  I don't think those guys did anything worse than the cheating scandal in 2017.  The Astros won the Championship that season, largely on their ability to cheat.  So, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez should all be in.

Okay, now that that is out of the way, let's look at my predictions from earlier:

1. Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones finally get elected.

Yes.  As said earlier, they both got in.

2. Dustin Pedroia, Chase Utley, Andy Pettitte and Felix Hernandez all get large gains as a result of being stronger cases on a very weak ballot.

Yes again.  Pedroia went from 11.9% to 20% (gained 38 votes).  Utley went from 39.8% to 59.1% (157 to 251).  Pettitte went from 27.9% to 48.5% (110 to 206 votes).  And King Felix went from 20.6% to 46.1% (81 to 196).  Those are some very large gains.  Utley has positioned himself to have an outside chance at election next year with Hernandez maybe a year or two later.  Pettitte is running very low on time, only having two more years on the ballot, but as I said in my earlier post, I think he gets in via an Eras Committee.  I will discuss Pedroia more in a later post, but he could easily build support over the next eight years.

3. Of the first-timers, only Cole Hamels makes it to a second year on the ballot.

Again, correct.  Hamels received 23.8% of the vote.  All of the other first-timers failed to receive the necessary five percent.  Rick Porcello shocked me by getting two votes.  Gio Gonzalez, Howie Kendrick and Daniel Murphy all got shut out.

4. Manny Ramirez makes a modest gain, but drops off the ballot due to being on for ten years.

Ramirez gained 30 votes, going from 34.3% to 38.8% and drops off the ballot.

5. Alex Rodriguez makes a modest gain.

A-Rod gained 24 votes and finished at 40%.

6. Torii Hunter and Omar Vizquel both manage to get headed in a positive direction. 

Hunter gained 17 votes and Vizquel gained eight.  Vizquel will be in his final year on the ballot next year.

Next year, the top newcomers will be Buster Posey and Jon Lester.  Neither player is a slam dunk for election in the first year.  Posey is often cited as a potential first year inductee, but he doesn't really have that much better of a case than Pedroia, which I will discuss in my future post.  

Last Week's Maildays

As I promised earlier, this is a much more diverse post.  I received a lot of smaller TCDB trade packages.  But yes, there are some Ceddanne Rafaela cards.

I promise the black theme was a coincidence.  But it is pretty cool.  

1.  Brayan Bello.  Bello has been the subject of some trade rumors lately.  I don't think Boston WANTS to trade him, but if it means bringing a big bat over (say: Ketel Marte), I could see him get moved.

2.  Tanner Houck.  Houck is recovering from Tommy John surgery.  It's going to be awhile before we see him again.

3.  Alex Bregman.  This is the Holiday image variation, the bat is striped like a candy cane.

4.  Alex Bregman.  After Boston lost out on both Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, the need to bring back Bregman is pretty big.

5.  Tyler O'Neill.  O'Neill has homered in six straight Opening Day games.

1.  Jose Iglesias.  Iglesias has put together a lengthy career.  He has had stints in Boston twice.  He came up with Boston and was second in the Rookie of the Year vote in 2013, though he was traded at the deadline to the Tigers.  He was back in 2021.  He has also played with the Reds, Orioles, Angels, Rockies, Mets and Padres.  

2.  Kyle Teel.  Teel was traded in the deal for Garrett Crochet.  There are rumors that Boston is interested in bringing him back.  We will see, but I doubt it will happen.

3.  Daniel Nava.  Nava hit a grand slam on the very first pitch he saw as a Major Leaguer. 

1.  John Schreiber.  I really liked Schreiber and was very disappointed when Boston traded him.  I'm just happy Topps finally made some cards of him with the Red Sox.

2.  Lucas Giolito.  Giolito had a nice stint with the Red Sox.  He was 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA in 26 games started.  He struck out 121 batters and walked 56 in 145 innings pitched.  Not bad for coming off of Tommy John surgery.

3.  Chris Martin.  Like Schreiber, Martin finally got a card released with the Red Sox.  It was his first card since 2020.  Martin received Cy Young points in 2023.

4.  David Ortiz.  As I have said recently, Ortiz is making another surge in my collection.  

5.  Triston Casas.  Right now it is looking like Casas will be the first-baseman in 2026.  

6.  Justin Slaten.  Slaten is one of the better Rule 5 picks in Red Sox history.  Probably second behind Garrett Whitlock.  

7.  Pedro Martinez.  Another Red Sox Hall of Famer who I have picked up a bunch of cards of lately.

1.  Don Baylor.  Baylor was a Silver Slugger winner for the Red Sox in 1986 when he was the team's designated hitter.  He also won two more for the Yankees.  He was the first manager for the Rockies.

2.  Fred Lynn.  I love this photo.  If Dale Murphy ever gets elected to the Hall of Fame, I think Lynn has to be considered.

3.  Jon Lester.  This card celebrates Lester's no-hitter against the Royals in 2008.  Lester will be up for the Hall of Fame next year.

4.  J.D. Drew.  This card celebrates Drew's All Star Game MVP award.  He is one of five Red Sox to win it, along with Carl Yastrzemski, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez and Jarren Duran.

5.  Jed Lowrie.  It's cool to see an insert card of a guy like Jed Lowrie.  Lowrie walked off the deciding game of the 2008 ALDS against the Angels by singling in Jason Bay in the bottom of the 9th off of Scot Shields.

6.  David Ortiz.

7.  Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Matsuzaka was fourth in the Rookie of the Year vote and fourth in the Cy Young vote in consecutive seasons for the Red Sox.  Unfortunately, his career was derailed by injuries after that.

8.  Clay Buchholz.  Buchholz is a pitcher I wish could have stayed healthy.  The years that he was good, he was VERY good.  From 2010 through 2013, he was 46-19 with a 3.15 ERA.  He had a ton of talent that he just could not seem to fully harness and stay healthy at the same time.

9.  David Ortiz.

10.  Rafael Devers.  The decision to trade the best slugger developed by the team since Mo Vaughn still looms large.  The Red Sox failed in signing the big free agent power hitters this week.  They need power badly.  

11.  Jacoby Ellsbury.  Ellsbury stole 241 bases in his career with the Red Sox.  He is third all-time in Red Sox history behind Harry Hooper (300) and Tris Speaker (267).

1.  Franklin Arias.  Arias is currently either the best or second-best prospect in the Red Sox system after the graduations of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell.  

2.  David Ortiz.

3.  Masataka Yoshida.  At this point Yoshida will be the team's designated hitter in 2026.

4.  Rafael Devers.

5.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  And we close things where we began today.