ESPN Analyst Labels Two Red Sox Veterans As 2026 Fantasy Baseball Busts
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A fantasy baseball guru warned drafters against selecting two key Boston Red Sox players this season.
For those still drafting before Opening Day, ESPN's Tristan H. Cockcroft listed 15 busts to avoid. Along with fellow Red Sox star Rafael Devers, Cockcroft advised managers to eschew closer Aroldis Chapman and shortstop Trevor Story.
Chapman unexpectedly dominated in 2025, posting a microscopic 1.17 ERA with a career-best 6.6 percent walk rate. Cockcroft doesn't think that resurgence is repeatable in the southpaw's 17th season, particularly if his fortune on balls in batted play neutralizes.
"Chapman's 2025 was historically excellent, but what made it historic also makes it highly unlikely to be repeated (or even reasonably approach)," Cockcroft wrote. "Consider that Mariano Rivera is the only reliever ever with consecutive seasons of at least 30 saves and a 2.0 WAR after his 37th birthday, while only 14 pitchers have ever had one such season after turning 37. Chapman's career-best .200 BABIP is unsustainable from year-to-year, and his ERA might well double (or worse), making his upper-tier closer price seem excessive."
Story rebounded from three injury-plagued seasons in Boston to play 157 games last year. Cockcroft isn't comfortable betting on that same durability from the 33-year-old, who delivered immense 2025 fantasy value with 25 home runs and 31 stolen bases.
"He's among the more reliant upon playing time to fuel big fantasy totals and, while his No. 2 lineup spot helps, he'll need to have health closer to his 2021 or 2025 seasons than his 2022-24 years in order to repeat it," Cockcroft wrote.
Chapman and Story helped lead fantasy managers to glory last season, but drafters aren't fully buying into an encore. Six closers are going ahead of Chapman at his No. 83 consensus average draft position (ADP), courtesy of FantasyPros, and Story's No. 115 ADP makes him the 15th shortstop.
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