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Wilyer Abreu headshot

Red Sox roster · Outfielder

#52 Wilyer Abreu

Cornerstone Everyday right fielder, middle-of-the-order lefty bat

Our call: 25 homers and a third Gold Glove, but still no 30-homer season

2026 season

G
157
AVG
.248
HR
24
RBI
76
OPS
.773
SB
8

Our take

Role

Wilyer Abreu finally got a full season in right field. He played 157 games, started 153 of them in right, and his 681 plate appearances were the most on the roster. He's arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, and MLB Trade Rumors projects a $4.6 million salary. He's the right fielder again in 2027.

Outlook

The line was .248/.327/.446 with 24 homers, 38 doubles and 71 walks. Statcast liked the contact more than the results: a .346 expected wOBA (81st percentile) and a barrel rate in the 84th. He also handled lefties better than righties, posting an .854 OPS in 217 plate appearances against them and .735 against righties. That's a reverse split for a left-handed hitter, and it makes him hard to platoon. The arm is the headline on defense. MLB.com's Gold Glove finalist writeup put his average arm strength at 95.3 mph, and his 13 outfield assists trailed only the Dodgers' Andy Pages.

He's streaky. He hit .186 in July, then .279 with seven homers and a .587 slugging percentage in August, then .207 in September. MLB.com's Ian Browne said consistency is what stands between Abreu and a 30-homer, 100-RBI season.

Our take: he's a two-time Gold Glover with a cannon, and he gets on base. We'd lock him up. We also expect another year of hot and cold months that totals out to about 25 homers.

Career stats

MLB regular season.

Season Team G PA H HR RBI SB AVG OPS
2026 Boston Red Sox 157 681 148 24 76 8 .248 .773
2025 Boston Red Sox 115 417 92 22 69 6 .247 .786
2024 Boston Red Sox 132 447 101 15 58 8 .253 .781
2023 Boston Red Sox 28 85 24 2 14 3 .316 .862

Roster, bio, stats and headshot: MLB.com. Updated October 15, 2026. Takes are ours.