Thursday marks the first official day of spring training for the Red Sox, with pitchers and catchers working out. The entire squad's first get-together is slated for Monday.
So, as we head into a new season, here are some notes courtesy the Red Sox' media relation staff:
- The Red Sox’ camp roster features 8 catchers and 40 pitchers. The only catchers in camp who were not in the Sox’ organization in 2020 are Chris Herrmann (signed as a minor league free agent on 2/5) and Ronaldo Hernández (acquired from TB on 2/17).
- All 9 of the Sox’ LHPs were in the organization last season...12 of their 31 RHPs are new to the Red Sox organization in 2021: Matt Andriese, Adam Ottavino, Garrett Richards, and Garrett Whitlock, as well as non-roster invitees Matt Carasiti, Frank German, Daniel Gossett, Zac Grotz, Kevin McCarthy, Kaleb Ort, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Josh Winckowski.
- According to Elias, Alex Cora is the fifth individual to manage a team for a full season, then return to that team after a 1-year absence. Prior to Cora, the last person to do that was Billy Martin with the Yankees (1983, ‘85).
- The only coach new to the Red Sox organization is bench coach Will Venable. Kevin Walker transitioned from assistant pitching coach to bullpen coach, Ramón Vázquez was named quality control coach, and Jason Varitek was named game planning coordinator.
- Seven players in Red Sox camp have 7+ years of MLB service time: Chris Sale (10 years, 61 days), Adam Ottavino (9.087), J.D. Martinez (9.036), Nathan Eovaldi (9.013), Garrett Richards (8.148), Martín Pérez (8.038), and Xander Bogaerts (7.042).
- The oldest Red Sox player in camp is 35-year-old Adam Ottavino. All other players are 33 or younger.
- Christian Vázquez (2008 June Draft), Xander Bogaerts (2009 international free agent), and Matt Barnes (2011 June Draft) are the longest-tenured members of the Red Sox organization.
Barnes has made 323 relief appearances for BOS, 4th most in franchise history behind only Bob Stanley (552), Mike Timlin (394), and Jonathan Papelbon (393).
Vázquez ranks 10th in Red Sox history with 441 games caught and could potentially pass Bob Tillman (496), Rick Ferrell (514), and Tony Peña (539) in 2021.
- Ten of Baseball America’s top 11 Red Sox prospects were invited to Major League Spring Training camp, including each of the top-5 ranked pitchers. The youngest pitcher in Red Sox camp is 21-year- old Bryan Mata, the organization’s top pitching prospect.
- RHPs Thad Ward and Josh Winckowski both grew up in Fort Myers, FL...Ward served as a bat boy at City of Palms Park but can’t recall the year, though he can narrow it down to 2006-08, when he would have been 9-11 years old. Winckowski attended Cypress Lake High School in Fort Myers until transferring to nearby Estero High School, located approximately 12 miles south of jetBlue Park.
- ROSTER BREAKDOWN
40-Man Roster: 40
NRIs: 30
Injured List: 1
Pitchers: 40 (31 RHP/9 LHP)
Infielders & Outfielders: 23
Catchers: 8
Returning Players: 53
New to Organization: 18
Oldest Player: 35 (Ottavino
)Youngest Player: 18 (Yorke)
Most Service Time: 10.061 (Sale)
ROSTER BY BIRTHPLACE
United States: 49
Dominican Republic: 8
Venezuela: 5
Colombia: 2
Puerto Rico: 2
Aruba: 1
Canada: 1
China: 1
Japan: 1
Panama: 1
HOW THEY WERE ACQUIRED
Trade: 19
June Draft: 17
Minor League Free Agents: 13
Free Agents: 9
International Free Agents: 6
Rule 5 Draft: 4
Waiver Claims: 3