Boston Red Sox pitchers and catchers are set to report to Fenway South in Fort Myers, Florida, to begin spring training on Feb. 12.
A long winter without baseball is finally winding down and Sox fans will soon get to see which players will make the Opening Day roster to start anew on March 27. Boston added multiple starters and relief pitchers this offseason and invited its top prospects to big league camp to see if they’re ready to break into the majors.
But the Red Sox must figure out where everyone will play. Boston has depth at multiple positions and many decisions to make before the regular season opens in about 50 days. Here are some of the most interesting position battles fans should keep an eye on during Red Sox spring training.
3 Red Sox position battles to watch in spring training
Second base
The Red Sox have cycled through nearly a dozen second basemen since Dustin Pedroia, their last regular there, was injured in 2017. A fair few players are in the mix for the middle-infield spot on Opening Day, including Vaughn Grissom, Kristian Campbell, Romy González and David Hamilton. Even shortstop prospect Marcelo Mayer has begun taking reps at second base.
Grissom and Campbell, two righties in Boston’s lefty-heavy squad, are often floated as the most likely candidates for the job. Grissom may have a slight advantage over Campbell, though, as the prospect has never regularly seen big-league pitching and only posted 19 games at Triple-A last season.
Closer
The back end of Boston’s bullpen is packed with potential closer candidates. The Sox signed Liam Hendriks before the 2024 campaign as he healed from Tommy John surgery, and he’s ready to return to action in 2025. The Sox also added Aroldis Chapman, who has 335 saves in his 15-year career and can still touch triple-digits on the radar gun.
The Red Sox also have some internal closer candidates, like Justin Slaten, a Rule-5 pick who posted a breakout season last year (2.93 ERA, 55.1 innings pitched.) Garrett Whitlock will be moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen after he underwent the internal brace procedure to repair his UCL last season. He was also floated as a potential closer candidate during the 2024 Winter Meetings.
As of this writing, the closer job seems likely to go to Hendriks, as he has years of experience in the role and far better command than Chapman. However, things may have changed for the Perth, Australia native after Tommy John surgery, and he said he hopes to earn the job with his performance in spring training. Fans will have to wait and see who comes away as the go-to guy in the ninth inning.
Outfield
The Red Sox have a lot of outfielders without as many places to put them, especially if top prospect Roman Anthony makes the Opening Day roster. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow mentioned that he wants to play Ceddanne Rafaela in center field as much as possible. Manager Alex Cora suggested Masataka Yoshida may get some playing time in the pastures this coming season. Anthony, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Rob Refsnyder also need jobs in the outfield.
Duran, Rafaela and Abreu would certainly be the team’s best defensive lineup, but they need Refsnyder’s bat in the order to dominate against lefties, as he did last season to the tune of a .302/.393/.548 slash line and .941 OPS. Yoshida can also be an on-base machine when he’s healthy, but is a defensive liability in front of the Green Monster. The Red Sox expect Anthony to be a superstar at the plate, but there’s no telling how his first season in the major leagues will go.
But one thing’s for sure: Red Sox management has a lot to consider when building the lineup for 2025. It will be exciting to see how spring training shakes out and who lands on the Opening Day roster.
