One of the biggest storylines of Red Sox camp this spring will be the performance of top prospects Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, and Tuesday the club’s top decision-makers reaffirmed that the trio will be given an opportunity to earn a spot over the next six weeks.
“There’s no age limit to make the big leagues. You can make it at 20. You can make it at 32. It’s up to you,” manager Alex Cora said. “If you talk to the three of them, they have one goal, it’s to break camp with us. So we’ll see what happens.”
“We’re very excited about what a number of these young guys are going to bring,” said chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. “We want to ensure that this camp is productive not just for us in terms of getting to see them work but for them in terms of the exposure they’re going to get to a big league environment.”
Anthony, Campbell and Mayer are each considered consensus top-15 prospects in MLB, and Anthony in particular is ranked either No. 1 or 2 in most of this year’s preseason prospect rankings. Though the outfielder has turned heads ever since being selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Breslow made a point to temper expectations.
“There’s excitement around Roman, around Kristian, around Marcelo, around others, and rightfully so. But at the same time we’re going to be mindful of the reality, which is that Roman is 20 years old and in his first big league camp,” Breslow said. “We’re thrilled that he’s a part of this organization and we’re thrilled with the current state of the farm system, but our job is not to win farm system rankings, it’s to win big league ballgames.”
Breslow said Campbell will get reps at second base and Mayer will play all over the infield. Cora noted that because he didn’t play a game at Triple-A following his promotion due to injury, Mayer is slightly behind the other two entering camp.
The Red Sox did not have any new injuries to report on the eve of camp, and Breslow and Cora each provided encouraging updates on several returning players.
Lucas Giolito and Whitlock are both recovering well from elbow surgery and are tracking towards being ready for Opening Day, and Liam Hendriks is full go after completing his Tommy John rehab. Rafael Devers’ shoulder is in a much better spot after the third baseman grinding through injury nearly all of 2024. Masataka Yoshida has begun swinging the bat following his offseason shoulder surgery but hasn’t started throwing, and Vaughn Grissom has put on 20 pounds of muscle after last year’s nightmarish run of injuries.
“We’re really optimistic about his ability to bounce back,” Breslow said of Grissom.
Breslow identified five candidates for the closer job entering camp: Liam Hendriks, Aroldis Chapman, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock and Justin Wilson. … Asked about whether the club has discussed contract extensions with any of its younger players, Breslow said they have but at this point they’re all “general and kind of vague,” though he hopes they’ll become more specific and lead to agreements at some point soon. … Cora offered praise for new left-hander Garrett Crochet. “Big dude,” he said. “He looks like Chris Sale, but stronger.” … Former Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen has reportedly agreed to a one-year, $10 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels.