Three Blaster Break

A few weeks ago I managed to walk into my local Walmart apparently immediately after they stocked the trading cards.  There were quite a few brands to choose from.  Knowing that this was unlikely to last, I decided to grab three blasters, one from each of three sets.  And it was a shockingly decent result from each blaster.

Up first is Bowman: 

1.  Hector Ramos.  This is my first card of Ramos.  According to Sox Prospects, Ramos is Boston's 28th ranked prospect.  The middle infielder was an international free agent in 2025.  It may be awhile before we really start hearing much about him.  

2.  Justin Gonzales.  This is the big one from this.  First off, it's a Mojo Refractor, and secondly, Gonzales has become a big-time prospect.  He is now Boston's #2 prospect and he has prodigious power.  He is a massive human at 6'6" and 270 lbs.  Boston turned down requests for him in deals so he seems ticketed for the team soon.

3.  Nelly Taylor.  Taylor was an 11th-round pick for the Red Sox in 2023.  He is not rated at this time.  He is in Double-A at this time.

Up next is Topps Series 2:

1.  Wilyer Abreu.  Abreu seems headed on his way to a third Gold Glove Award.  His advanced defensive metrics have him far and away the best defensive right-fielder in the game.  Coupled with his 20+ homer power and Abreu is a seriously underrated player.

2.  Payton Tolle.  Tolle is quickly becoming one of my favorite players.  He recently had a 14-strikeout game.  I am not sure how he is not getting more support for the Rookie of the Year.  I know he is not going to win, but he has been a consistently good pitcher all year.

3.  Trevor Story.  This has been yet another lost season for Story.  He has not played since May and was struggling even then.

4.  Trevor Story/Jarren Duran.  Here are two players who were expected to be big parts of the offense and have not lived up to expectations.  As said, Story has been injured most of the season.  Duran is currently hitting .201.  He is on pace for a 20/20 season, but strikes out at an alarming rate and has a 72 OPS+.

5.  Kutter Crawford.  I'm not sure why Crawford even has a card in the set.  He has not pitched since 2024 until just recently when he made his first appearance on a rehab stint.  This spot could have been used for someone like Greg Weissert who has yet to have a card with the Red Sox or Patrick Sandoval who had been rehabbing and made it back a few weeks ago.

Last but not least is Donruss:

1.  Marcelo Mayer.  I pull a lot of Mayer cards.  Hopefully that will switch over to someone actually still on the team.  Mayer was traded to the Giants at the trading deadline for Erik Miller.

2.  Jason Varitek.  Holy crap, I pulled a Varitek card.  He remains my favorite player of all time.  This is card number 1,006.

3.  Kristian Campbell.  I also seem to pull a lot of Campbell cards.  He has been hitting a lot in Worcester lately.  I wonder if he could make it back to the Majors this year yet.  I also wonder where he will play going forward.  I could see Boston cutting ties with both Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida over the offseason, which would open up a potential spot for him as a roving outfielder/designated hitter.  

Stadium Club Trade

It's another trade post.  This one got me a few random Stadium Club singles. 

1.  Hirokazu Sawamura.  Sawamura was a valuable bullpen piece in 2021, but his struggles in 2022 led to his release.  This is my second autograph card of him.

2.  Eric Hosmer.  Ah yes, a Hosmer sighting.  Hosmer was acquired at the trading deadline in 2022 after turning down inclusion in the Juan Soto to the Padres deal.  Hosmer did very little in Boston, playing in 14 games and hitting .244/.320/.311.  The deal cost former first-round pick Jay Groome, who never made the Majors.

3.  Alex Bregman.  I will be doing a One Year Wonder post for Bregman some day.  He had a very good season in 2025.  The question is: was he better than Adrian Beltre's sole season in Boston.  I think the answer to that is pretty obvious, but I will still do a post about it.

Donruss Blaster Break

I have mentioned before my affinity for Panini brands.  The lack of a license is annoying, but I always do really well with Red Sox cards.  So, I jumped on the opportunity to grab a Donruss blaster.  I don't really understand how their agreement works anymore.  For a few years, iIt used to be they could not have cards of current Major Leaguers, they would do prospects and retired players.  Now, they seem to have some current Major Leagues in the sets, such as Aaron Judge.

1.  Roger Clemens.  One of these days, I still want to see Clemens make the Hall of Fame.  He was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox.

2.  Carlton Fisk.  I learned something the other day.  I actually did not know that Fisk was a first-round draft pick and that he was the fourth overall pick.  I honestly thought he pre-dated the Draft.  That means Boston has drafted two players in the first round that made the Hall of Fame, along with Jim Rice.  If Clemens ever makes it, that would make three.

3.  Kristian Campbell.  Campbell has been playing much better in Worcester lately.  Perhaps he can make it back to the Majors some day yet.

4.  Payton Tolle.  Tolle has quickly become one of my favorite players.  He has been very good lately and has entered into the Rookie of the Year conversation, though I doubt he will win it.  Kevin McGonigle seems to have it locked up.

5.  Roman Anthony.  Hopefully Anthony will make it back for the stretch run.  Boston could use an offensive infusion.  

More Ceddannes and a Relic Trade

Time for another Ceddanne Rafaela update post. 

I grabbed these two off of Ebay.  I don't focus quite as much on Rafaela cards anymore, but every once in awhile, I will grab a bunch of lower-priced cards I need, just to pad the numbers.  I did seek out the team border parallel though after failing to land it in a trade.

Brayan Bello.  Here is a relic card I picked up in a trade.  It is my first relic of Brayan Bello.  Bello has had a strange year.  He has been horrible in the first inning in most of his starts.  So, Boston has been using him as a bulk reliever, and he has been terrific in that role.  It makes no sense, but here we are.

Topps put Rafaela in an insert set focused on great defensive players.  Rafaela of course won his first Gold Glove in 2025.  He looks to be well on his way to a second one this year.  

Topps Now: May 1, 2026

I have not done too many Topps Now cards this year yet.  For the first few months of the season, there was not much to be happy about.  

I admit I was kind of skeptical when Boston traded top pitching prospect Luis Perales to the Washington Nationals for Bennett.  But I figured the team knows more than I do.  And Bennett has been mostly great since coming up.  He made his Major League debut on May 1 against the Astros.  He pitched five innings for the win, giving up five hits and one run while walking two and striking out three.  The only run was a home run by Carlos Correa.

The Red Sox won the game 3-1 thanks to a three-run homer by Jarren Duran.  Roman Anthony had three hits as well.  Aroldis Chapman got the save.

First New Cards of a Couple Major New Red Sox (and a Bunch of Rafaelas)

I procrastinated too long on the Road to Opening Day sets.  Usually I figure they are going to be available right up until Opening Day.  That was not the case with the Red Sox set this year which sold out by the time I was going to buy it.  Presumably people were wanting to get the Roman Anthony cards which could be valuable cards if he lives up to his potential.  Unfortunately, that meant I had to try to find the singles on my own, and come to grips with the likelihood that I would not get the Anthony card.  I grabbed three of the singles from separate sellers.  All three will be in this post.

Willson Contreras.  Going into the offseason last year, it was clear Boston needed a big bat in their lineup.  I was hoping for Pete Alonso and was disappointed when Boston didn't really seem to engage with him.  I firmly believe he could have hit 50 home runs in Boston.  Instead, Boston acquired former catcher Contreras from the Cardinals in exchange for Yankee killer Hunter Dobbins and pitching prospects Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita.  Contreras has actually been even better than Alonso this year.  He's had a few on-field issues, but has a 161 OPS+ and 23 home runs to date.  He is the thumper the team needed.

Here's a couple new Ceddanne Rafaela cards, including a relic card.  I don't get as many relics as I used to, but I still grab them depending on the player.  And Rafaela is a player I definitely go out and get.

Sonny Gray.  Another need for the team going into the offseason was some starting pitching depth and the team made another trade with the Cardinals for Gray, who has been a valuable starter for years with the A's, Reds, Yankees, Twins and Cardinals.  Gray cost Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke.  He has also been terrific, leading the team in wins and ERA and being dependable every time out.

Here are several more Rafaela cards, including in the middle of the scan, the third Road to Opening Day card I grabbed.  Obviously I had to grab the Rafaela card.

More Random Thoughts

A lot of the following cards are relevant to some things going on with the team.  So, I have some random thoughts.

Franklin Arias.  Boston traded several prospects for Adley Rutschmann, as well as trading Marcelo Mayer.  Some time last year, Arias became Boston's top prospect.  He is still that and looks like a potential star.  Unfortunately, Boston has had some difficulty with players taking the next step in the Majors lately.  I expect Arias will be given the opportunity to win the starting shortstop job next Spring Training, or possibly a bit later in the year.  Mayer is gone, but Trevor Story is still around.

1.  Hunter Dobbins.  Boston has traded a LOT of pitching away lately.  Dobbins was sent to the Cardinals in the Willson Contreras deal, but they also traded Richard Fitts, Brandon Clarke, Blake Aita, Yhoiker Fajardo, Kyle Harrison, Kyson Witherspoon and Anthony Eyanson.  They have been quite good at developing pitchers lately, but trading them all away is not the best way to handle those resources.  Their top prospect list is becoming a lot more hitter-heavy than it has been the last couple years.

2.  Marcelo Mayer.  I have already talked about him a great deal.  I don't have much to add right now.

1.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  He has been a lot of fun to watch lately.  He crushed the Dodgers almost single-handedly last weekend during the three-game sweep, including crushing two homers (and nearly a third) off the great Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

2.  Kristian Campbell.  Campbell remains in the minors, but has improved a lot in the last month.  He still has a chance to make it back to the Majors.  I hope he does.  Especially now.  

3.  Franklin Arias.  Yep, two Arias cards in this post.

4.  Ceddanne Rafaela.  Yep, two Rafaela cards too.  That is significantly less surprising.