If we can get Crochet and Gray back soon, maybe this season wont be a complete disaster. Survive around .500 till they get back. A healthy, consistent Crochet will go a long way to helping this team compete on a higher level.
I understand if you want to be out on the season, but I'm going to keep watching regardless and we have games to play so we might as well try to get the best lineup out there.
A few observations before I give some proposed lineups
For starters I think Story might be completely cooked. While some guys struggles are so bad its not sustainable, Trevor Story legitimately looks like a ~.500 OPS kinda guy consistently. I think he might be in DFA territory soon especially considering he's the weakest defender on the team. At the very least he is benchable rn.
I think the struggles of both Duran and Anthony can be attributed to inconsistent roles. I dont think either guy is the kind of player that their numbers reflect rn. BUT those numbers likely wont improve until they can both get consistent reps in a constant role. Whatever lineup contruction fix we attempt, we must give these guys consistent reps because the offense will only approach competency if these guys are operating like they normally have.
Yoshida has been one of your better hitters AND he has reverse splits though he has been good against both LHP and RHP. ~100-105 OPS+ against both. We should consider this before we automatically try to start more righties against a left handed starter. Yoshida stands a better chance against a lefty rn than Story or IKF.
Rafaela has value in his bat not just in his glove. Idk how long this improved plate discipline will last. It might be here for good; if so, that would be awesome. Regardless, the argument that he can't play 2B because all his value is in CF is just false rn. In addition he has been mixed when it comes to defense so far anyway.
Caleb Durbin is an asset to this team. No one wants to hear it but he has accumulated some of the most dWAR so far this season, and going back the last 2 weeks his bat has been what is was last year for MIL - ~90-95 OPS+. That's not elite bat production, but if he is going to continue to be elite defensively, he is a serviceable 9 hitter with value on the bases as well. Consider this before benching him and wanting either to platoon him with Mayer or put in Monesterio or IKF or Eaton who arent everyday players.
With those things in mind, consider the following lineup against RHP and openers regardless of handedness.
L Duran CF
R Contreras 1B
L Anthony LF
L Abreu RF
R Rafaela 2B
L Yoshida DH
R Narvaez C
L Mayer SS
R Durbin 3B
OR if you prefer not to hit Rafaela that high you could swap him and Narvaez or do this lineup
L Duran CF
L Anthony LF
R Contreras 1B
L Abreu RF
L Yoshida DH
R Rafaela 2B
R Narvaez C
L Mayer SS
R Durbin 3B
I get not liking back to back lefties multiple times through the lineup but as of rn I trust Anthony against lefties. Yoshida hits both well consitently. Abreu is rocking an .880 OPS against LHP and Duran's only success this year at the plate has come against Fried, a LHP. At some point you just have to put your best hitters up there and not worry about righty/lefty. Put Contreras in the middle to split them up sure, but if everyone is right, those are your best 5 hitters at the top.
Against lefties its much more difficult but I dont mind this lineup
L Duran CF
R Contreras 1B
L Anthony LF
R Monesterio SS
L Abreu RF
R Rafaela 2B
L Yoshida DH
R Narvaez C
R Durbin 3B
Platooning Mayer with Monesterio seems a good option. Outside of that I dont love IKF or Story's chances against a lefty much better than Yoshida. You could bench Duran but again I dont love that because I think his struggles have been primarily because of inconsistency. He is simply not a ~.450-.500 OPS kind of player. If you disagree with that your brain is cooked.
If you insist on more righties against a lefty then you could go with these lineups but I simply dont think bringing in IKF or Story against a lefty is going to raise your ceiling all that much if at all, and it hasnt worked so far this season
L Anthony LF
R Contreras 1B
R Monesterio DH
L Abreu RF
R Rafaela CF
R Story SS
R IKF 2B
R Narvaez C
R Durbin 3B
OR
L Anthony CF
R Contreras 1B
R Monesterio DH
L Abreu RF
R Rafaela 2B
L Yoshida LF
R IKF/Story SS
R Narvaez C
R Durbin 3B
I understand being upset at ownership and the FO for how things have gone the last 5+ years. They read the maket wrong on Mookie and didnt want to extend him. They kicked the can down the road too far on the Xander negotiations. They chose TS10 and Yoshida over Kyle Schwarber. They botched the negotiations with Bregman.
But at the same time, there was good reason to believe in the youth movement heading into this season. They invested sizeable money into proven veteran players, and there were national media figures picking them to do well this year. Just for an example in the MLBN's yearly top 100, the Sox were in rare air for the amount of players they had in the top 100 and the commentators were intrigued by the bulk of pitching talent and depth paired with some dynamic young bats. I understand many people not liking the pitching first emphasis but on the whole most national outlets agreed the roster for 2026 was a pretty good roster, minus the OF logjam. The ownership invested money. They are 6th in payroll, and they went into the second tier of the luxury tax for the first time. They are only behind the Dodgers, Mets, Jays, Yankees, and Phillies.
Meanwhile, Cora made questionable lineup decisions - not batting WC40 2nd, insisting on never batting back to back lefties, IKF for the platoon partner at 2B - questionable defensive decisions - starting Story at SS when Mayer is clearly the better defensive SS - and clearly did not have this team prepared for ABS in any way whatsoever. Beyond that it is now coming out that there was some clear prejudice against the younger players, this can be seen on the field in favoring TS10 over Mayer. There seemed to be little accountability for the dumbness that was wover into the team DNA over the last ~7 years. If Pat Murphy can get praised for the Brewers being a smart team and teaching consistent fundamentally sound baseball, why is Alex Cora not criticized for failing to train our young talent? Beyond that dont get me started on his frustrating bullpen management. How many times do we have to see Greg Weissert fail to strand inherited runners before we go a different route?
I understand not being pleased with the style in which this roster was constructed (pitching and defense), but Cora made daily decisions and cultural decisions that left me infuriated and clearly contributed to the team being where it is.