Willson Contreras is on the Pink Sox’s official American League Wild Card roster, and Boston expects him within the Sport 1 lineup Tuesday evening at Yankee Stadium.
However is Contreras’s proper hand is totally healed. He returned Sunday because the designated hitter after lacking eight video games, went 0-for-2 and exited within the fifth inning. Supervisor Chad Tracy stated Contreras ought to be “good to go,” however availability and a full, pain-free swing aren’t essentially the identical factor.
Contreras completed his Contreras led Boston in energy productionfirst Pink Sox season with a career-best 27 homers and 81 RBIs, each group highs, whereas batting .275/.386/.516 for a .902 OPS. His 153 OPS+ was one of the best on the membership, and his 4.6 WAR mirrored a full-season influence Boston can’t casually change.
| BOSTON RED SOX — 2026 AL WILD CARD ROSTER | |
|---|---|
| Punch Again |
| PITCHERS | |
|---|---|
| # | Participant |
| 66 | Brayan Bello |
| 64 | Jake Bennett |
| 44 | Aroldis Chapman |
| 35 | Garrett Crochet |
| 68 | Alec Gamboa |
| 54 | Sonny Grey |
| 67 | Erik Miller |
| 75 | Wyatt Olds |
| 55 | Ranger Suarez |
| 70 | Payton Tolle |
| 57 | Greg Weissert |
| 22 | Garrett Whitlock |
| CATCHERS | |
|---|---|
| # | Participant |
| 31 | Adley Rutschman |
| 12 | Connor Wong |
| INFIELDERS | |
|---|---|
| # | Participant |
| 40 | Willson Contreras |
| 5 | Caleb Durbin |
| 2 | Isiah Kiner-Falefa |
| 32 | Andruw Monasterio |
| 10 | Trevor Story |
| OUTFIELDERS | |
|---|---|
| # | Participant |
| 52 | Wilyer Abreu |
| 19 | Roman Anthony |
| 16 | Jarren Duran |
| 3 | Ceddanne Rafaela |
| 37 | Jahmai Jones |
| INFIELDERS/OUTFIELDERS | |
|---|---|
| # | Participant |
| 18 | Nate Eaton |
| 20 | Nick Sogard |
| 2026 AL Wild Card Collection roster, Boston Pink Sox. | |
Can Contreras be the Identical Hitter With Hand Damage
At age 34, after arriving from St. Louis in December, Contreras gave the Pink Sox one thing they didn’t actually possess — a confirmed middle-order hitter able to altering the rating with one swing.
That issues in a brief playoff collection, the place top-quality pitching makes it extraordinarily troublesome for offenses to string collectively large innings primarily based on singles, doubles and walks. Dwelling runs win playoff collection.
Boston scored 71 runs in 24 September video games, the fewest in Main League Baseball. The Pink Sox will face Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler in Sport 1, left-hander Max Fried in Sport 2 and, if mandatory, Gerrit Cole in Sport 3. That’s a troublesome assigment.
Tracy referred to as Contreras’s return “big … huge” earlier than Sunday’s regular-season finale.
“Even with a layoff, with a man like that, what he’s able to doing with one swing of the bat,” Tracy stated. “It’s fairly nicely documented.”
The purpose was clear sufficient. Contreras provides Boston its finest likelihood to show a detailed sport into one thing else, a deficit right into a lead.
He was struck on the best hand by a pitch from Texas Rangers receiver Jakob Junis on Sept. 17. X-rays and a CT scan discovered no fracture, however Contreras stated final week that the ache had prevented him from swinging. He had solely 14 plate appearances in September earlier than Sunday’s return, leaving the Pink Sox to weigh rust, grip energy and ache tolerance in opposition to postseason urgency.
He’s prone to begin at DH in Sport 1. Nick Sogard turns into the apparent first-base different if the hand limits Contreras defensively or forces a midgame transfer.
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Pink Sox Roster Carries 12 Pitchers, However Not Sandoval
The official 26-man roster consists of 12 pitchers. They’re Brayan Bello, Jake Bennett, Aroldis Chapman, Garrett Crochet, Alec Gamboa, Sonny Grey, Erik Miller, Wyatt Olds, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, Greg Weissert and Garrett Whitlock.
Adley Rutschman and Connor Wong are the catchers. The position-player group additionally consists of Caleb Durbin, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andruw Monasterio, Trevor Story, Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jahmai Jones, Nate Eaton and Sogard.
Crochet made the roster after being reinstated from the 60-day injured checklist, although he has not appeared in a Main League sport since April 25. Boston moved Justin Slaten to the 60-day IL to create the mandatory 40-man opening.
Minor league base-stealing specialist Braiden Ward didn’t make it. Neither did left-handed starter Patrick Sandoval.
However Contreras stays the roster’s defining inclusion. Schlittler held Boston to a 0.74 ERA throughout 4 begins this season, and the Yankees own residence subject all through the best-of-three collection.
The Pink Sox’s route is low-scoring baseball, clear bullpen work and anyone offering one explosive swing. For Boston, that anyone is meant to be Contreras.
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