FORT MYERS, Fla. – The daily dispatches of Red Sox players doing this or that from the World Baseball Classic ended Tuesday night, when right fielder Wilyer Abreu’s solo shot to center field helped Team Venezuela to an emotion-filled 3-2 victory over Team USA.
Though manager Alex Cora is one of the biggest proponents of the WBC, he is pleased that everyone is either back at camp or on his way. There is still work to be done to get ready for the season.
With 13 Boston players from Major League camp participating in the Classic, it was a quieter feeling in Fort Myers these past couple of weeks.
With the band getting back together, here are the top storylines to follow between now and Opening Day in Cincinnati on March 26.
The outfield logjam
The concept of the outfield logjam was easy enough for Cora to talk about in recent weeks, but he wasn’t able to see it play out in real time. All five of his projected outfielders (Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Abreu, Masataka Yoshida) were at the WBC for multiple weeks.
Here is the situation: There are essentially four lineup spots for those five players when you include the DH.
What is the solution? Emerging star Anthony will play every day, or just about, spending a lot of time in left, some time at DH and perhaps playing right when Abreu needs a day off.
Duran will rotate between left, center (when Rafaela is out of the lineup) and DH. When Rafaela and Abreu play, they will always be in center and right – the positions they won American League Gold Glove Awards at last season. The murkiest part of the equation is Yoshida. It is hard to see how he fits in on a regular basis.
“Just get the group together, see the lineup. Start looking for certain situations, how we're going to deploy our guys,” said Cora. “That's the most important thing. Like I said before, it's not a problem. Whoever wants to say it's a problem, well, good for them. The manager says it’s not a problem. It’s a luxury having good players; to have 13 position players that are solid, it’s always good. We’ll figure it out. We’re going to be good.”
The No. 5 starter
While perhaps the leading candidate, Johan Oviedo, threw in a Minor League game on Wednesday, Connelly Early started against the Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The third pitcher in the mix, lefty Payton Tolle – Boston’s top prospect and No. 19 in baseball per MLB Pipeline – dazzled in a scoreless four-inning relief stint (no walks, five strikeouts) against the Braves on Tuesday. All three pitchers have had their moments. Early has probably been the most consistent of the trio. Each member of the trio has Minor League options.
Adding further intrigue is the presence of veterans Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval, who also got action on the backfields on Wednesday. While Crawford and Sandoval both missed all of last season due to injuries and won’t be stretched out enough for the start of the season, they could factor into the rotation at some point in April.
Mayer’s quest to make the roster
When camp started, it was widely assumed that Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer would fill the vacancies that existed at third and second base. It was just a matter of which position the two versatile infielders would settle in at. As camp evolved, it became clear that Cora landed on Durbin as his third baseman.
While Mayer has looked smooth at second base and comfortable enough at the plate, Cora, interestingly, hasn’t guaranteed a roster spot for the No. 4 pick in the 2021 Draft. However, that day should be drawing near.
“He's playing well. He's playing really well,” said Cora. “And obviously, we have to make a decision. We haven't made that decision, but so far, he's been checking all the boxes.”
Will Wong retain the backup catcher position?
Connor Wong gave the Red Sox an unexpected amount of offense in 2024. Last season was the opposite. Injuries to his left and right hands left him unable to get anything going offensively. Though Wong is 2-for-26 so far in Spring Training, he still projects as the leading candidate to be Carlos Narváez’s backup. Matt Thaiss, Mickey Gasper and Jason Delay have all made good impressions.
“We'll see where we’re at,” said Cora. “But I really like Connor. He's a good player. He's good in the clubhouse. He knows this pitching staff. I like him.”