One of the most fun things about spring training is the annual emergence of one young player who makes the whole camp his own. Two years ago it was Ceddanne Rafaela. Last year it was Marcelo Mayer. This year could it be Kristian Campbell, someone who has already won a player of the month award at the MLB level? After a strange and ultimately disappointing rookie year, Campbell is back trying to find a place for himself in the big leagues. And while he admits that he was nervous last year, he thinks this spring is going to be different. This year, I feel like I’m a lot more under control and calm. I know what’s going on around me. I know more people in the locker room this year. It’s a better environment, for sure, for me, personally. I feel a lot more comfortable.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
Campbell probably will be able to fly under the radar a bit this year. Most of the spring training attention falls on the new faces, and the Sox have plenty of them, especially on the mound. And one of those new faces, Sonny Gray, says that, “on paper,” this Red Sox rotation is the best one he’s ever been a part of. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Johan Oviedo is another one of those new faces, though in his case it seems like he is in the media shadow of both Gray and Ranger Suárez. He’s also already really close to at least one of his new teammates as, even before he was traded he Boston, he spent the winter working out with his countryman Aroldis Chapman. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
And speaking of being in the shadow of bigger names, how many baseball fans even realize that Patrick Sandoval is on the Sox this year? Right now, it’s looking unlikely that the man who once led the league in shutouts (with, uhh, one) will start the season in the Red Sox rotation, both because there’s a lot of competition and because he hasn’t thrown a competitive pitch in a looooooooong time. But he feels like he’s getting closer. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
I think most people assume that Oviedo has the inside edge on the fifth rotation spot, if for no other reason than that the Sox gave up a lot to get him. But according to Craig Breslow, there will be competition for the role this spring, including not only Oviedo and Sandoval but also Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, and Kutter Crawford. (Tyler Maher, NESN)
The Sox have so many new pitchers that Brayan Bello is now the most-tenured guy in the starting rotation (most tenured in a Sox uniform, that is.) That seems wild given that most fans still thing of him as a young arm who is continuing to hone his game. Case in point, he recently received some pitch grip tutelage from Ranger Suárez. (Lauren Campbell, MassLive)
And on the other side of the ball, Trevor Story is now the second-most tenured position player. Which is why he’s being called “unc” by the kids. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
Unc will open the 2026 season with an entirely new infield than the he opened 2025 with. Marcelo Mayer and Caleb Durbin will be in the infield somewhere, but at what positions? They’re both going to work out at both second and third for now, and Alex Cora doesn’t seem too stressed about it: “We went through this dance last year. I know how to dance it. Just be patient.” (Kaley Brown, Boston.com)
