Whitlock’s opinion carries weight. He lives only a few minutes from Fenway South and has been working out at the facility since last season ended with a playoff loss against the Yankees. Whitlock has watched with interest as the Sox added Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, and Ranger Suárez to a starting rotation headed up by Garrett Crochet, who finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting.

The Sox also have Kutter Crawford, who had a 4.36 earned run average over 33 starts and 182⅔ innings during the 2024 season before missing last season with knee and wrist injuries.

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Crawford has been at Fenway South since mid-January and threw his latest bullpen session Tuesday. Pitching coach Andrew Bailey expects him to compete for a spot in the rotation.

“I feel great,” Crawford said Tuesday. “Ready to go and get out there. I’m not holding back at all.”

Nine of the 15 starters the Sox used last season are no longer in the organization. Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito, who combined to make 48 starts, remain free agents. Others were traded.

Whitlock said there have been more major leaguers at Fenway South than usual for this time of year. Nearly half of the 40-man roster was on the field Tuesday and sessions of live batting practice are scheduled for Friday.

To be certain, a player could be working hard on his own or at a private facility. But it was notable to see so many players in camp with the first official workout for pitchers and catchers not until next Tuesday.

Bailey hauled a large Bluetooth speaker out on the field to provide some background music for the workout. He was joined by bullpen coach Chris Holt and catching coach Parker Guinn.

Carlos Narváez will be attending spring training with the Red Sox for a second time.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

“It’s exciting for me to see all these guys on the field,” Carlos Narváez said. “As a catcher, I want to get to know them, especially the new guys. You look at the rotation and it’s great for our team.”

Brayan Bello reported early to prepare for the World Baseball Classic. He will join Sandy Alcantara, Cristopher Sánchez, and Luis Severino in the rotation for the Dominican Republic. It’s a sign of where he stands in the game after posting a 3.35 ERA last season.

Outfielders Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell also were on hand, along with infielders Marcelo Mayer and Romy Gonzalez.

Campbell spent much of the morning on a back field doing outfield drills with coach Kyle Hudson. The Sox played Campbell mostly at second base last season, with eight starts in center field and one in left before he was demoted to the minors in June. He then started playing more in the outfield.

That the Sox are preparing Campbell as an outfielder seemed like a door opening to trading one of their other outfielders for a righthanded-hitting infielder.

For now they signed versatile infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa to a one-year deal on Wednesday, adding him to an uncertain mix. He could platoon with Mayer at third base and provide an option at second or shortstop.

Mayer showed last season he has the ability to play either second or third at the highest level. But he has to show he can stay on the field, having yet to play more than 91 games in five professional seasons.

It’s a surprise the Sox haven’t added more thump to their lineup beyond new first baseman Willson Contreras. But maybe Whitlock has it right, their arms could be the difference maker.

This week we dig into Super Bowl LX preparations and if Drake Maye’s shoulder will be the main storyline of Patriots vs. Seahawks this Sunday.

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social‬.