The 2026 Boston Red Sox’s miraculous turnaround has been a true team effort. But when identifying the players most responsible for the club’s recent surge, Caleb Durbin is one of the first names that comes to mind.
Durbin’s Red Sox career couldn’t have started much worse. Acquired in a six-player offseason trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, the 26-year-old third baseman hit just .183 with one home run (off a position player) and posted a .530 OPS before June 1. Meanwhile, left-hander Kyle Harrison, the key piece sent to Milwaukee, entered June with a 6-1 record and a 1.57 ERA across 10 starts.
The other pieces Boston received in the trade — infielders Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler — were virtually non-factors. With Harrison pitching like a Cy Young candidate, the Durbin deal was widely viewed as a disaster and perhaps the nail in the coffin for Craig Breslow’s tenure as Red Sox chief baseball officer.
Everything changed once the calendar flipped to June.
Since then, Durbin is tied with Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Junior Caminero for the highest fWAR among third basemen (2.3) — the eighth-highest mark of all MLB players. He also ranks third among qualified third basemen in batting average (.304), OPS (.893), and wRC+ (147), and has the fewest strikeouts at his position (24) in that span.
He padded those numbers with another signature moment during Boston’s 14-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. In the first inning, he blasted his first career grand slam onto the Green Monster:
Durbin isn’t the only player acquired from Milwaukee to make an impact during Boston’s incredible run. Monasterio ranks second among qualified shortstops and 15th among all MLB players (minimum 90 plate appearances) with a .971 OPS since Boston’s turnaround began on June 25. And although Seigler’s numbers aren’t eye-popping, he has had a handful of memorable moments while emerging as a much-needed “glue guy” in the clubhouse.
Together, the trio has completely flipped the narrative surrounding Breslow’s once-criticized trade. As for the Brewers’ side, Harrison has gone in the opposite direction with a 5.34 ERA after June 1 and a trip to the injured list due to forearm tightness. Former Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan has actually outperformed Harrison over that stretch, recording a 3.86 ERA since June and a 3.48 ERA on the season. Light-hitting infielder David Hamilton, the third player Boston shipped to Milwaukee, has continued to provide little value beyond his elite speed.
It’s now fair to call the Durbin trade down a massive win for the Red Sox, further cementing what has become a wildly successful offseason for Breslow. He also traded for slugging first baseman Willson Contreras and veteran right-hander Sonny Gray, who have been the MVPs of the offense and the rotation, respectively. After failing to outbid the Chicago Cubs for veteran third baseman Alex Bregman — a blessing in disguise given Durbin’s breakout — Breslow redirected those resources toward signing left-hander Ranger Suarez, helping assemble one of baseball’s most dominant rotations.
All of these additions have helped the Red Sox, who were 14 games under .500 on June 25 (32-46), improve to 61-51 with 29 wins in their last 34 games. They’ve climbed into the second American League Wild Card spot and have a legitimate shot at the AL East crown, currently just 5.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston will enter Wednesday’s game against the White Sox on a six-game winning streak.
