After a long and cold winter, baseball season is finally here.
Pitchers and catchers report to Fort Myers on Tuesday, kicking off the start of a new Red Sox season. Coming off the club’s first playoff berth since 2021, the Red Sox will look to take the next step toward championship contention. But if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that the coming weeks and months will feature no shortage of twists and turns.
So as camp begins, here are five storylines Red Sox fans will want to follow at the outset.
Who will take advantage of WBC absences?
With 12 players set to participate in the World Baseball Classic, there is going to be a lot of playing time up for grabs while those competing for their countries are away from Fort Myers.
That will especially be true in the outfield and starting rotation. Will anyone capitalize?
Among the outfielders currently on the 40-man roster, only Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Romy Gonzalez and Nick Sogard are scheduled to spend all of spring training with the Red Sox. Campbell and Sogard each played fewer than 10 games in the outfield last season and Gonzalez hasn’t played outfield at all since 2024.
Anthony’s spot on the Opening Day roster is obviously secure, and Gonzalez and Sogard will primarily factor into the infield and bench equation. But Campbell could have a huge opportunity to make a statement, and fans should expect him to get a ton of at bats in Grapefruit League play.
As for the rotation, Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello will both be away, giving more runway to those competing for the final spot in the Red Sox rotation. That means additional innings for Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Kyle Harrison.
Will any starters move to bullpen?
As of this writing the Red Sox have 21 pitchers on their 40-man roster, not including Tanner Houck, who will miss the entire season due to Tommy John surgery and will be placed on the 60-day injured list in the near future. Of that group 13 are starting pitchers and only eight are traditional relievers.
Considering that a typical bullpen has eight relievers, that obviously isn’t a sustainable divide.
The Red Sox have several non-roster invitees who will presumably provide bullpen depth once the season begins, but at some point the club will have to add to the 40-man as well. External additions are always a possibility, but another option might be to take some of the younger starters further down the depth chart and move them to the bullpen.
Alex Cora said at Fenway Fest that they’ll all be stretched out as starters and he views them as such, but if guys like Harrison, Shane Drohan, Tyler Uberstine and Jake Bennett are otherwise buried in the depth chart, perhaps one could get an opportunity to give the bullpen a boost.
Tolle might be a tempting choice too given his overpowering fastball, but given how high his ceiling the Red Sox probably will try to keep him starting unless absolutely necessary.
Kutter Crawford of the Boston Red Sox pitches during the first inning of an MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)
How do Crawford, Sandoval look?
Two of the biggest mysteries in Red Sox camp are Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval. Both missed all of 2025 due to injury but are expected to be in the mix for a rotation spot this spring.
Crawford and Sandoval were both established starters with track records of big league success prior to their injuries. Crawford made 33 starts and posted a 4.36 ERA in 183 2/3 innings despite pitching through injury all throughout 2024, and though Sandoval’s last season before surgery was a struggle, he had a 3.50 ERA in 293 1/3 innings between 2022-23.
Can they get back to being those guys again? And what will happen if they get beaten out by Oviedo, Early or one of the other up-and-comers? Could they possibly move to the bullpen? Would a trade be on the table? They’ll be two to watch for sure.
Will Casas take the field?
If Crawford and Sandoval are the biggest mysteries on the pitching side, Triston Casas is the biggest question mark in the position player group.
After missing most of last season following a devastating knee injury, the 26-year-old slugger is working his way back and is on pace to return early in the season. When speaking to reporters at Fenway Fest, Casas said one of his goals is to play in some Grapefruit League games, which would see him return to game action less than 11 months out from the original injury.
That would be quite a feat, but if Casas does take the field it will be fascinating to see how he performs and if Opening Day winds up being a realistic target.
Given the arrival of Willson Contreras and the crowded picture at designated hitter, Casas doesn’t have an obvious path to playing time even once he is healthy. But at 100% health Casas has the potential to be the best power hitter in the organization, and if he can tap into that ability the Red Sox will have to find a way to squeeze him in the lineup.
How will infield shake out?
Putting aside the possibility that the Red Sox could still trade for another infield bat, there will be enough intrigue among the players who are already on the roster.
For starters, what kind of role will Marcelo Mayer and Campbell carve out?
Campbell faces a tough roster crunch given how crowded the Red Sox outfield will be once the WBC ends, but Mayer is a legitimate contender for either the starting second or third base job. Where will he be used most in spring training? And what about Gonzalez and Isiah Kiner-Falefa? They’ll be top candidates to at least earn spots on the Red Sox bench, but could they beat out one of the kids for a starting job even if the Red Sox bring in reinforcements?
There’s a lot of moving parts here, and with the roster still in flux it’s impossible to know with certainty who will play where on Opening Day.