After four seasons in which he emerged as a veteran leader and key bench player for the Red Sox, Rob Refsnyder’s time in Boston is over.

Refsnyder has signed a one-year contract with the Mariners, the club announced. According to a major league source, the deal will pay Refsnyder a base salary of $6.25 million in 2026. It also includes $250,000 in incentives.

Refsnyder, who turns 35 in May, was a journeyman utility player when he signed with the Red Sox as a minor league free agent in December 2021. Over the last four seasons, he found a home in Boston, where he mashed left-handed pitching and became an important clubhouse voice. Along with Trevor Story and Alex Bregman, Refsnyder helped form a core of older position players who helped the Sox navigate treacherous waters in the fallout of the Rafael Devers drama (and subsequent trade) over the summer. On the field, he was plenty productive, too, as he hit .269 with nine homers, 12 doubles and an .838 OPS in 70 games in his limited role in 2025.

In 309 games over the past four seasons, Refsnyder hit .276 with 27 homers, 119 RBIs, 48 doubles and an .804 OPS while serving as one of the best hitters in baseball against left-handed pitching. In 2025, he posted a .302 average, .560 slugging percentage and .959 OPS against southpaws, pairing with Romy Gonzalez to form a potent pair of right-handed platoon options for Alex Cora. Refsnyder’s .596 slugging percentage against left-handed starters was the fourth-best mark in baseball. Since the start of 2021, Refsnyder ranks third in the majors in on-base percentage against lefties (.405) among players with 300 plate appearances.

Refsnyder expressed strong interest in returning to the Red Sox in 2026 but in recent weeks, the writing has been on the wall for his departure. There aren’t many at-bats to go around in Boston’s crowded outfield/designated hitter picture and recent comments from manager Alex Cora made it harder to see Refsnyder returning in his role. Specifically, the club wants Wilyer Abreu — a platoon player to this point in his career — to get regular starts against lefties in right field, a position where Refsnyder logged 21 starts in 2025. Cora also praised the athleticism of Nate Eaton, who may take over Refsnyder’s role as a versatile, younger and cheaper version in 2026. Eaton had a .673 OPS against lefties in 49 big league plate appearances last year but the Red Sox think there’s more in his right-handed bat. Kristian Campbell is expected to focus on outfield work in spring training, too, further crowding a group that includes Abreu, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran and potentially Eaton and others.

The Mariners will be Refsnyder’s seventh major league team, joining the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Twins. He had previously signed two deals to remain in Boston, agreeing to avoid arbitration at $1.2 million for 2023, then signing a $1.85 million extension for the 2024 season that included a $2 million option for 2025.

MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH) — For decades, police have been arresting drunk drivers and measuring their blood alcohol levels.

But in October, the Connecticut Forensic Lab started testing all impaired drivers for drugs, and even the experts were shocked by what they found.

“It’s not simply alcohol combined with one drug combined with alcohol,” Dr. Jessica Gleba, the director of Forensic Lab Operations, said. “We are seeing multiple drugs used together and often combined with alcohol.”

Fentanyl and carfentanyl use are on the rise and the data shows people are combining multiple drugs at an alarming rate.

“The data revealed, in 2025, 14% of cases analyzed had 10 or more drugs present, an increase compared to 2022, when the number was 6%,” Gleba said.

Approximately 50% of cases in 2025 had five or more drugs detected, according to the Connecticut Forensic Lab.

Not only is the state lab finding more and more combinations of drugs in impaired drivers, Connecticut is also seeing more fatal accidents caused by impaired drivers.

Across the country, around 30% of fatal crashes are caused by impaired drivers. Joe Cristalli, Jr., the CTDOT Highway Safety Office director, said Connecticut is well above that.

“The impaired rate is 40% – between 37% and 40% – and we’re one of the highest in the country,” Cristalli said.

It is the season for holiday parties, but it is also cold and flu season, and over the counter medicine can impair your driving, especially combined with alcohol.

The message from law enforcement is clear.

“If you are caught, you will be arrested, you will be presented for prosecution, which means you’re going to have to appear before a judge in the State of Connecticut,” commissioner Ronnell Higgins of the Deptartment of Emergency Services & Public Protection said. “I don’t know how clearer I can be.”

In other words, don’t drink or use drugs and get behind the wheel.