Let’s start by going back in time to March 17.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic had just ended, with multiple Boston Red Sox players — most notably Wilyer Abreu and Roman Anthony — shining on the global stage. Bolstered by offseason additions to the rotation, the Red Sox seemed poised to contend for an American League East title and potentially make a deep playoff run.
Then the regular season began.
Boston got off to an abysmal start, going 2-8 over its first 10 games. While then-manager Alex Cora preached patience, his bosses had other ideas, firing Cora just 27 games into the season on April 25 (after a 17-1 win, no less).
It’s been all downhill from there: The Red Sox enter Friday last in the AL East at 25-36 entering a three-game series with the rival New York Yankees, who are 10.5 games ahead of them in the standings.
But losses are just the tip of the iceberg for a team that’s been plagued by dysfunction and miscommunication throughout the young season. With 101 games still remaining in their season, here’s a timeline of what’s gone down over the first 61:
Late March/early April: Roman Anthony gets the yips
Anthony is a well-rounded player with a (supposedly) strong arm. But through the first few games of the season, he makes a number of terrible throws from the outfield that are either short, off-target or both.
“I’m doing everything I can pregame and just struggling to get a grip,” Anthony says on April 6 after a particularly brutal throw against the Milwaukee Brewers. “At the end of the day, there’s no excuse. It’s terrible. It’s bad baseball, and it’s on me.”
To his credit, Anthony appeared to get over his case of the yips … before more adversity struck the young outfielder (more on that later).
April 1: Carlos Narvaez benched for “undisclosed reason”
Just six games into the season, then-manager Alex Cora benches starting catcher Carlos Narvaez for a game against the Astros in Houston but declines to say why.
“I just made a change,” Cora told reporters. “I talked to Carlos a little bit, and we move on from there. … Let’s keep it between me and Carlos.”
It’s later revealed that Narvaez was late to a pregame meeting.
April 15: Jarren Duran flips off a fan in Minnesota
After a routine groundout in Boston’s series finale with the Twins, Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran directs an obscene gesture toward a fan in the Target Field stands.
Duran, who has spoken openly about his struggles with mental health, said the fan made a “triggering” comment about suicide. But Duran’s reaction still drew criticism, especially considering he’s had run-ins with fans before.
Late April: Alex Cora’s firing prompts internal and external questions
The events around Cora’s firing probably warrant their own timeline, but here’s just some of what transpired after the Red Sox canned their World Series-winning manager:
April 29: Garrett Crochet lands on the injured list
The Red Sox ace is placed on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation after just six starts. Crochet pitched six scoreless innings in his previous outing on April 25, but had allowed 15 runs combined in his previous two starts.
Crochet said at the time he hoped he only needed 15 days before returning to action. It’s now been 38 days since his last start.
May 10: Duran calls out Michael Holley over Roman Anthony injury
Anthony is placed on the 10-day injured list with a wrist injury after initially being labeled as “day-to-day,” leading NBC Sports Boston’s Michael Holley to call out the Red Sox for not being truthful about his injury on Boston Sports Tonight.
Duran catches wind of Holley’s comments and fires back on his Instagram story: “They let people like this on NBC Sports (Boston)” with the clown emoji.
A short while later, Duran deletes his entire Instagram account. Meanwhile, Anthony hasn’t played since May 4.
Late May: The Anthony injury debacle continues
In an interview with WEEI on May 22, team president Sam Kennedy says Anthony has “a sprain in the ligament at the base of the ring finger,” but that there’s “no evidence of the tear.”
One week later, Anthony tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford he does have a partially torn ligament in his finger.
Did we mention the Red Sox have a communication problem?
June 1: John Henry “worried” about the Red Sox?
Franchise legend David Ortiz, who is on the team payroll as a special advisor, claims that owner John Henry is concerned about the state of the team.
“He’s worried. We had a conversation. I can see,” Ortiz told the Associated Press. “He knows the direction of this team and he’s worried about the team’s situation more than what people think he is.”
June 1: Theo Epstein reportedly takes issue with Breslow’s analytical approach
The Boston Globe’s Tim Healey reports that Red Sox minority owner Theo Epstein has been “disappointed by the Sox’ intense analytical direction” under Breslow.
Epstein has “long been a mentor” to Breslow since the duo worked together in the Chicago Cubs’ front office, but Breslow told Healey his current communication with Epstein “ebbs and flows.”
June 3: Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s comments raise eyebrows
Asked to explain the Red Sox’ struggles at Fenway Park after falling to 9-20 at home, Kiner-Falefa notes the players are “close-knit” on the road but “see a lot of people that we don’t know” while at home.
“We come home and there’s just a lot of people,” Kiner-Falefa says. “It’s a different vibe.”
June 4: Brayan Bello blows up
Bello allows six runs in the first inning en route to a disastrous outing against the Orioles, then snaps at reporters who ask about his struggles as a starter compared to his success being used as a reliever.
Bello insists he’ll improve and figure things out at the major league level … then promptly gets demoted to Triple-A Worcester.
So, yeah. The vibes could be better.
