IKF is Extremely Underwhelming
A non-needle moving move.
The Red Sox needed to add an infielder and technically they finally did. While many Red Sox fans have been plotting on how they could acquire Nico Hoerner or if Ketel Marte could still be a possibility, Craig Breslow did not try to shoot for the stars for an infielder. He acquired someone who does not move the needle at all in Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
The Red Sox may not be done adding to their infield however it’s difficult to imagine them adding another key infielder. Below are the Red Sox options at each position.
Right now, Sogard and Hamilton are likely starting the season in Triple-A as the Red Sox will likely carry four on the bench. This will likely be there bench options: Romy Gonzalez or Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Nate Eaton, Connor Wong, and one of Duran, Abreu, or Yoshida. In order to fit another impact infield bat on the roster, Boston would have to make a significant trade of an outfielder or move Yoshida.
If this is the last positional player added to the roster, it’s just not good enough. Craig Breslow came into the off-season talking about how power was going to be a priority. They lost Alex Bregman however they did get Wilson Contreras. I would consider that a wash. But the real issue is they never replaced the power that they lost when they traded Rafael Devers. With Devers, Boston ranked 8th in home runs. Without him, they ranked 23rd. While there will be more home runs from a player like Roman Anthony, he alone cannot take the Red Sox lineup from a bottom third home run hitting team to a top 10 home run hitting team. So where does the power come from?
Last season, IKF hit .262 / .297 / .334 and hit TWO home runs in 459 plate appearances. Not only is IKF not going to provide any power, he won’t provide much offensive value (76 OPS+ in 2025). Nothing about his Baseball Savant page screams offensive production.
With IKF signing, the Red Sox are going full bore into run prevention. IKF is an above average defender who can play multiple positions well. With the Red Sox having five starting pitchers who rank at least in the 64th percentile in ground ball rate, infield defense has to be good. Craig Breslow signing IKF reflects that. IKF is also necessary insurance for Trevor Story, who finally put together a healthy season in 2025.
The issue that many Red Sox fans have is the words of Breslow and anyone else in power mean nothing. The front office chose to talk about how power was going to be a priority this off-season. At one point back in November, there were reports that the Red Sox wanted two from the Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and Kyle Schwarber group. It was Breslow and the front office that created the narrative that the organization was going to be aggressive and significantly upgrade the offense. How do they go from an ultra aggressive mentality to not signing any of those big bats? It feels like full throttle 2.0.
The IKF deal doesn’t change my feelings that this Red Sox team is going to be good in 2026. I still believe that. But their ceiling is significantly lower without another impact bat. The Red Sox are a team that is almost always a top run producing team. In fact, they haven’t finished outside of the top 11 in runs scored since 2014. However, I think a case can be made that this team may struggle to score runs in 2026. And their margin for error with injuries is ultra thin.
There are still reports out there that Boston wants to add a bat. I just struggle to see where. The only thing that I can potentially see is if they were to acquire a player like Isaac Paredes. It could push Marcelo Mayer into a role that is not a guaranteed spot, which makes sense. If the Red Sox do not add, it puts a ton of pressure of Mayer, who has struggled to be healthy in his professional career along with Trevor Story.
The IKF signing for 1 / $6M takes the Red Sox back over the second luxury tax threshold of $264M ($266.8M). Unless the Red Sox find a way to cut payroll like they did with Jordan Hicks, they have around $17M to work with until they reach the third luxury tax threshold of $284M. There is no reason to not add to the roster and get closer to the third tax threshold.
I will continue to hold off my final judgement of the off-season because things can still happen. Moves can still be made in Spring Training once a few players go down with injuries. However, I am very surprised that it’s the first week of February and Craig Breslow has not made a significant move to solidify either second base or third base.