With Isiah Kiner-Falefa on board, what will the Red Sox infield look like for 2026?

Good morning! The Purple Sox have a brand new infielder. And, uh, he’s not precisely one to get all that enthusiastic about.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa is a superbly good backup to have in your group. He performs three positions within the infield and performs all of them nicely — presumably higher than anybody else at present on the Purple Sox in the event you’re not but satisfied of Marcelo Mayer’s glove (although I’m). He makes contact and doesn’t strike out a lot. He’s right-handed, which is vital for this Purple Sox group. He’s a superbly cromulent backup, is what I’m saying.

However the place the fear creeps in is within the risk that he doesn’t find yourself being a backup on the Purple Sox. Six million {dollars} is by no means some huge cash for the Boston Purple Sox, a group that finds every kind of the way (both benign and not so benign) to print cash — but it surely’s a curious quantity to provide to a backup who is simply a marginal improve over the backups which might be at present in-house. Are the Sox envisaging one thing of an everday position for IKF? And even when they’re not, will he find yourself taking part in basically day-after-day anyway, given the harm dangers on the left aspect of the Purple Sox infield?

How do you see this infield state of affairs shaking out this 12 months?

Discuss that, no matter else you need, and, as all the time, be good to 1 one other.