FORT MYERS, Fla. — Over the course of his 14-year run with the Red Sox, David Ortiz became a legendary figure in franchise history. The Hall of Famer authored many of the club’s most iconic moments while leading his team to three World Series championships.
Needless to say Ortiz recognizes greatness when he sees it, and Big Papi believes big things are ahead for rising Red Sox star Roman Anthony.
“He’s the full package,” Ortiz told the Herald. “Great kid, very mature for his age, he wants it and he adjusted himself to this level very fast. I expect him to stay healthy and I know he’s going to dominate in this league.”
Ortiz is in Fort Myers this week to help out around Red Sox camp, and after morning drills concluded on the big field at JetBlue Park on Wednesday he took some time to catch up with the 21-year-old outfielder.
Anthony said he and Ortiz are close, and that their relationship stretches back to the beginning of his Red Sox career.
“It’s been great for a few years now, back in the minor leagues and when I was a prospect coming up, even maybe not the biggest prospect he was always great to me, always made sure I knew his phone is always open, he’s always willing to talk when he’s down here,” Anthony said. “He checks in on me, he checks in on my family every time I see him. I think we all are aware of his character, and to a guy like me and to my family it means a ton, and coming from somebody like him who had so much success in the way that he did, it’s awesome.”
After a breakout rookie season that helped earn him an eight-year, $130 million contract extension, the Red Sox hope Anthony can soon follow in Ortiz’s footsteps to become the face of the franchise. Anthony said being able to learn from Ortiz and so many other club legends has been a huge help, and it never gets old seeing them around the Fenway South complex.
“We’re such an amazing franchise with so much history that we’re lucky enough to be around guys like him, Pedro, Dewey, all these guys that come around, Jim Rice, all these guys that are at camp. There’s so much knowledge,” Anthony said. “We’re lucky as players to kind of get their two cents, and David, to me, has been the one that has always been super open to helping out and just being there for me.”
Beyond Anthony, Ortiz is also bullish on the rest of the 2026 Red Sox and believes the club’s improved pitching staff could go a long way towards helping the team take the next step after a 89-win season and an AL Wild Card berth.
“I love the pitching that we have,” Ortiz said. “Good pitching is always going to stop good offense, so with the pitching that we have I don’t think we’re going to need to score 10 runs to win a game.”
As for the offense, Ortiz believes there is room for improvement but that the Red Sox have enough talent to consistently put runs on the board.
“We’re better than what people think we are,” Ortiz said. “Do we need probably another thunder in the lineup? Yes, we’ll see down the road how that plays out. But I like it when they look at us as an underdog, I kind of like that, you know what I’m saying?”
