It has been seven long years since the Boston Red Sox hosted a World Series victory parade, and that 2018 title feels like a lifetime ago with every passing season. After finishing the season with a good 89-73 record, only to fall short against the rival New York Yankees in the 3-game Wild Card Series, another offseason is looming, and the front office must make a big move to end their title drought. But before that, one suggestion from Kevin Stephan of Chowder and Champions is catching everyone’s eye.

Stephan wants the Red Sox to raid the New York Mets and target their closer, Edwin Diaz, and argues this $73 million fix could change everything in 2026.

“Last season, the Boston Red Sox got lucky with Aroldis Chapman having a career season at the age of 37. The flame-throwing left-hander had the lowest ERA of his career (1.17) and had the highest K/BB (5.7) of his career,” Stephan wrote. “But lightning rarely strikes twice — and if Boston wants to ensure its bullpen dominance continues, they need a long-term solution: Edwin Diaz.”

The 31-year-old closer Edwin Diaz, who is currently having the most lucrative contract for any closer in baseball, will be a free agent in the upcoming winter. And the Mets closer had a great 2025 season himself, finishing with 28 saves (11th in the Majors), a 1.63 ERA, and a 4.7 K/BB ratio.

So, with Aroldis Chapman, who is already signed for 2026, and another great setup man, Garret Whittlock, Stephan argued, this “would give the Red Sox one of the league’s best setup and closer combinations in the game.”

And there’s another mechanical advantage of this trade, and that duo is more deadly. Diaz is a right-hander and heavily relies on sliders and which will perfectly complement Chapman’s fastballs and give Alex Cora more options to rely on in a day where any one of them is less effective.

That’s why Stephan added, “Diaz’s slider-heavy approach would also perfectly complement Chapman’s fastball-first arsenal, giving manager Alex Cora flexibility in late-inning matchups.”

In 2025, Edwin Díaz relied heavily on his signature slider, throwing it 47.4 percent of the time. Opponents hit just .179 against the pitch, and it generated a 44 percent whiff rate according to Baseball Savant and Metsmerized Online.

Meanwhile, Aroldis Chapman continued to dominate with his four-seam fastball, which averaged 98.4 mph and remained his go-to weapon throughout the season. That sharp contrast — Díaz’s right-handed, high-spin breaking slider alongside Chapman’s left-handed, high-velocity fastball — creates a deceptive and unpredictable late-inning tandem.

But it doesn’t solve all the problems the BoSox have faced so far this season. An elite ninth inning is powerful,

But it means nothing if the team is already losing

Before Boston spends $73 million on a luxury, they must fix the real cracks in the foundation because the Red Sox will not win with this “super-pen” alone. What about the starting rotation?

In the AL Wild Card Series, their ace Garrett Crochet pitched Game 1. Brayan Bello pitched Game 2. But for the decisive Game 3, Boston had no one, and the team was forced to start a rookie. They sent 23-year-old Connelly Early to the mound in the most important game of their season, who had just been pitching in Double-A just months earlier. And they lost the game, which eliminated them from the season.

That thin rotation is now in even bigger trouble. One of their most reliable 2025 starter, Lucas Giolito, just declined his $19 million option and is now a free agent.  Giolito posted a solid 3.41 ERA over 145 innings and was the pitcher who should have started that Game 3, but he was sidelined with an elbow injury.

His departure leaves a massive hole in the 2026 rotation where the Red Sox have only two fixed arms right now, Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello. After them, it is full of question marks. Patrick Sandoval is still on the injured list. And wait, that starting rotation is still not the biggest problem. The most important event of the offseason just happened. Third baseman Alex Bregman opted out of his contract that creating a true crisis for the Red Sox lineup.