(Editor’s note: Executive sports editor Bill Burt is in Fort Myers, Fla. with the Boston Red Sox. He will be reporting all week from spring training.)
FORT MYERS, Fla. – I will be here in southwest Florida for a week.
My concerns for the 2026 Boston Red Sox won’t be solved for another three weeks.
But here they are, one at a time.
Who is team leader?
Last year it was Alex Bregman, probably by default. He was here only eight months, but ascended to the role. Bregman was probably more of a teacher than leader, but is presence was felt.
The manager, Alex Cora, is the leader of the franchise and he is very good at what he does. But it’s not enough. You need a guy in the club house.
Is it Roman Anthony, who seems to be close, despite his age (21)?
Is it Trevor Story, who two years ago was “The Guy” before losing his year a week into the season?
Is it another new free agent acquisition, like Bregman, in Wilson Contreras, who sort of had a leadership role last year in St. Louis?
Jarren Duran is an option, as one of the most respected, particularly among the “kids,” but inconsistency is his game might rule him out.
It’s a question that needs to be answered, sooner rather than later.
Marcelo Mayer place
A year ago, he was part of “The Future,” as in Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell, as rookies rumbling and bumbling around camp.
While Campbell is a Wild Card, floating between outfield and infield, the next three weeks are important for Mayer.
This is his time.
The second base job appears to be his, with newly acquired Caleb Durbin (more on him next) apparently the heir apparent at third base.
It’s exciting to think of Mayer, who has as much natural talent as his buddy, Anthony, does.
While injuries have been a big issue, consistency is really the big one. His left-handed swing is a sight for sore eyes – powerful and smooth.
Mayer is well-liked and deserves his shot, but what is he going to be do with it?
The next three weeks will see if there is separation between he and Campbell. The four outfielders (more on that later), a nice problem to have, will continue if Mayer hits his stride.
Stay tuned.
Is Durbin a World Series third baseman?
Instead of paying $175 million to Bregman, the Red Sox went off the board and traded for the impressive Brewers rookie, who finished third in the voting for top newbee.
Durbin won’t carry the Red Sox. And he won’t hit 20 home runs. He’s got a grit and has had level of consistency, hitting .269 over his minor league career and an impressive .256 last year as a rookie with the Brewers, a National League playoff team.
Durbin was the choice of Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Craig Breslow to be the everyday third baseman, not necessarily replacing Bregman, but adding as much value in all facets of the game.
Some have compared him to Dustin Pedroia, primarily because of his minute size – 5-foot-6, 185 pounds – but his game is more about consistency than big-time stats.
He was a key player in the Brewers playoff run last summer as a rookie. That should put him in position to take on a “gritty” role if the guys around him are as good as we think.
One outfielder too many
President Breslow didn’t pull the trigger on a trade of one of his four starting outfielders – Anthony, Jarren Duran, Rafaela Ceddanne and Wilyer Abreu.
In the era of analytics, which Breslow is a huge participant, the extra outfielder will give depth late in games and, more importantly, if there are injuries.
All four have all-star potential.
Why not trade one of them?
Well, they didn’t have to. While it’s a good problem to have, all of them deserve to play 140-plus games.
This won’t be decided over the next few weeks, but we will have a better idea of how this “problem” will be handled by Breslow and, really, Cora.
Is Ranger Suarez a No. 2?
The Red Sox have good pitching, both starting and in the bullpen.
And Ranger Suarez, who spent eight years with the Phillies, the last four as a starter.
They paid $130 million for five years of his services, which was about $20 million more than experts figured.
He appears to better than last year’s second-best pitchers, Lucas Giolito and/or Brayan Bello.
But how much better?
Is he a guy that misses five starts and barely gets to six innings, which was his last four years with the Phillies.
That’s not $26 million per year, is it?
We will get a possible glimpse of that the last three weeks.