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Considered the answer to replace Alex Bregman, Caleb Durbin failed to live up to expectations to start the 2026 season. Now, the infielder is one of Boston’s best players, and part of the reason for its historic run.
After one season with the Red Sox, Bregman signed a five-year, $175 million deal with the Cubs in January. A month later, the Red Sox traded for Durbin, who slashed 256/.334/.387 and placed third in Rookie of the Year voting last year with the Brewers.
In Durbin’s first 48 games in a Red Sox uniform, he was slashing .163/.241/.238. The Red Sox were one of the worst teams in the league and were marked as sellers.
Then, something clicked.
The midseason resurgence of Caleb Durbin and the Red Sox
Durbin is now hitting 236/.299/.400 on the season. In his last fifteen games, Durbin is hitting .255/.349/.436. After his first 48 games, Durbin is hitting .304/.353/.551 in his last 44.
Recently, Durbin put Fenway Park into a frenzy with a go-ahead home run to give the Red Sox their 14th straight win, the longest for the franchise since 1948. There are definitely opportunities for improvement, but Durbin is a much different player than when the 2026 season started.
“We're playing really good baseball right now,” Durbin said via Sports Illustrated. “We're playing Red Sox baseball. We're fired up. We want to keep it rolling… It's just the way we're winning, man. We're having games where we're scoring a lot and winning by a lot, and we have games where we're coming back, like this."
“We're winning the dogfights," Durbin said. "That's what you need going into the postseason. It doesn't matter what the score is. Fenway is rocking. It's a lot of fun right now."
Meanwhile, the Red Sox rank near the top-ten in MLB in the following categories in July (as of July 22):
- Home Runs (10th)
- RBIs (4th)
- Runs (5th)
- Batting Average (12th)
- On-Base Percentage (11th)
- Slugging Percentage (12th)
- OPS (10th)
Although the Red Sox trail the AL East lead by 6.5 games, they currently hold a Wild Card spot. If they maintain this momentum, they have a chance to leapfrog the Guardians and Yankees in the playoff standings.
With Durbin continuing to swing a hot bat, the Red Sox are in a position many thought was unheard of when the season started: contenders.
Boston Red Sox schedule 2026
Here is Boston's schedule for the rest of July:
| Date | Game | Time (ET) |
| July 22 | vs. Orioles | 1:35 p.m. |
| vs. Orioles | 7:10 p.m. | |
| July 24 | vs. Blue Jays | 7:10 p.m. |
| July 25 | vs. Blue Jays | 4:10 p.m. |
| July 26 | vs. Blue Jays | 1:35 p.m. |
| July 27 | at Athletics | 9:40 p.m. |
| July 28 | at Athletics | 9:40 p.m. |
| July 29 | at Athletics | 9:40 p.m. |
| July 30 | at Athletics | 9:40 p.m. |
| July 31 | at Dodgers | 10:10 p.m. |
