Marcus Phillips on first Spring Training with Red Sox: "I have huge chip on my shoulder'

The Red Sox have brought some top talent into the organization from many of the traditional baseball hotbeds. California. Texas. Georgia. Florida. South Dakota?

Yes, South Dakota, home state of Boston's second 2025 draft selection, Marcus Phillips.

"Baseball is interesting in South Dakota," Phillips said. "It is slowly getting better, but I would be lying to you if I said that it wasn’t a different experience. It is nothing like playing baseball down in Florida. I would travel down there for tournaments, and you see guys running up in the low nineties at 17 years old on a consistent basis. Back home, it was only me and two other guys throwing hard in all of South Dakota. When I say hard, I mean 88-91 mph in high school. My best friend, Jack Riddell, who is at Notre Dame, was throwing 92 in high school. Aside from him, the closest to that was around 85 MPH. It is no wonder you only see pitchers come out of the state because hitters aren’t seeing velocity. I saw 90 for the first time in JuCo ball as a two-way player and I was blown away. I didn’t know what to expect in the box because I had never faced that before."

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Fort Report: Tolle, Early get nods in early Grapefruit League action

In stark contrast to the local weather back home at Fenway, the Red Sox began Grapefruit League action this week. They kicked off with their annual tilt against Northeastern University before moving on to major league contests on Saturday.

Young hurlers in spotlight

As usual at this juncture of the spring, the pitching load has been heavily weighted toward the prospects. Top prospect Payton Tolle (pictured) got the start on Sunday, with third-ranked Connelly Early following on Monday. Tyler Uberstine, ranked 13th and added to the 40-man roster in the offseason, got the nod for the Northeastern game on Friday. Mixed in was Saturday's outing from 2022 SoxProspects.com valedictorian Brayan Bello.

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Podcast Ep #402: Early reports from Spring Training and emails

Ian Cundall is joined by Andrew Parker who is down in Fort Myers to talk about the latest Red Sox news. They dive into the impact on the roster of Romy González’s injury, the incoming challenge system and more. After that Andrew goes through what he’s learned on the backfields so far including notes on Christian Foutch, John Holobetz and Conrad Cason. They then wrap up the show by answering a plethora of emails!

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Fort Report: Full squad reports to spring training

Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training last Tuesday and the first full team workout took place on Sunday. The Red Sox annual opener against Northeastern is scheduled for this Friday, with the first official Grapefruit League game on Saturday against the Twins. 

The Big Three, one year later

The Big Three of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell (pictured), and Marcelo Mayer entered last season listed second, fourth, and 15th on Baseball America's prospect rankings. The highly-touted trio all made their debuts with the Red Sox last season, with Anthony excelling before a season-ending oblique injury while Campbell and Mayer posted mixed results in their first taste of the major league level. 

One season later, Campbell's development and role on the 2026 team is one of the more intriguing storylines coming into camp. After making the team out of spring training last year and winning Rookie of the Month in April, Campbell struggled at the plate and defensively at second base before being optioned to Worcester in June. He has overhauled his swing over the offseason as he hopes to recover the form that made him one of the top prospects in baseball a year ago. On the defensive side, Alex Cora indicated that Campbell will receive most of his playing time in the outfield this spring. This position change makes Campbell’s spot on the roster unclear, as the Red Sox already have four starting-caliber outfielders, but a strong spring could propel him onto the Opening Day roster. 

Roman Anthony enters the 2026 season expected to hit near the top of the order and serve a key contributor in the Red Sox lineup after hitting .292/.396/.463 in 71 games as a rookie. On Monday, he was officially named to the Team USA roster for the World Baseball Classic as an injury replacement for Corbin Carroll. At 21 years old, Anthony will be the youngest member of Team USA in World Baseball Classic history. 

Mayer played in 44 games at the big league level last year and hit only .228 while striking out in 30% of his plate appearances. However, he displayed impressive bat speed and strong defense at multiple infield positions. Barring any further additions to the Red Sox infield, Mayer is slated to receive regular playing time at either second or third base, with recent acquisition Caleb Durbin starting in the other position. 

Bennett impressing in first spring training with Red Sox

Per Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, Jake Bennett has been a highlight of the team's early spring workouts, with Alex Cora, Roman Anthony, and Carlos Narvaez praising the left-hander. Bennett was acquired from Washington in exchange for Luis Perales this offseason and he is ranked sixth in the SoxProspects.com rankings. In 45 2/3 innings at the Double-A level last season, Bennett posted a 2.56 ERA and struck out 33 batters. Standing 6-foot-6, Bennett has elite extension and showed increased velocity in the Arizona Fall League last year. 

New podcast episode

In the latest episode of the SoxProspects.com podcast, Ian and Mike broke down the Caleb Durbin trade and how the roster is shaping up as spring training begins. 

Where are they now? 

Two members of the 2025 Red Sox signed minor league deals with other organizations. First baseman Nathaniel Lowe signed with Cincinnati and relief pitcher Liam Hendriks with Minnesota. Lowe was an impactful late-season addition after he was designated for assignment by the Nationals, as he hit .280/.370/.420 in 34 games with the Red Sox and helped to solidify one of the team's weakest positions at first base. Hendriks was signed before the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John Surgery. The three-time All-Star never returned to form with the Red Sox, missing the entire 2024 season and posting a 6.59 ERA in 13 2/3 innings last year. 

Photo Credit: Kristian Campbell by Kelly O'Connor

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Podcast Ep #401: Examining the Red Sox roster post Durbin trade

Ian Cundall and Mike Andrews are back to break down the Caleb Durbin trade and examine how the MLB roster plays out. They also give their thoughts on Craig Breslow’s offseason as a whole and what the strengths and weaknesses are on the current roster. They also discuss why the lack of power might not matter as much in the regular season, but could in the playoffs, before wrapping up with some early tidbits from spring training including which players are standing out in workouts and some early velocity numbers courtesy of SoxProspects Feature Writer Andrew Parker. 

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Fort Report: Welcome to Spring Training 2026

Pitchers and catchers are due to report to spring training today, but plenty of action is already taking place in Fort Myers. Some tweaks late in the offseason has what appears to be a complete major league roster alignment. 

Red Sox acquire infielder Caleb Durbin

The seven-piece deal to round out the starting infield was made official on Monday. Caleb Durbin joined  Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler head to Boston in exchange for infielder David Hamilton and pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan. Boston also receieves a Competitive Balance pick in the July draft from Milwaukee, currently 67th overall. Durbin finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2025 following his acquisition by the Brewers in the deal that sent Devin Williams to the Yankees. Monasterio has appeared in 219 major league games across three seasons. Siegler, like Durbin, was originally drafted by the Yankees. He was the 23rd overall pick in 2018, three spots before the Sox selected Triston Casas. Siegler's utility-player profile has something of a unique twist: while he throws right-handed while playing the infoeld and catching, he plays the outfield left-handed.

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Maximus Martin plans to bring “versatility at premium positions” to Red Sox system

Since taking over as head of baseball operations, Craig Breslow has significantly revamped the organization's approach to run prevention. It is no secret that Boston's draft strategy has been central to that shift. While much has been said about Breslow using 29 selections of a possible 40 on pitchers, the focus on defensive skill and versatility in position players has also been notable. Maximus Martin, Boston's 10th-round pick out of Kansas State, fits that profile.

Martin was listed as a shortstop on draft day, but his ability to play another premium position as well as a power boost at the plate caught the Red Sox attention.

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Podcast Ep #400: Another Trade, Another Signing and Top 100 Talk with Geoff Pontes

Ian Cundall is joined by Geoff Pontes of Baseball America to talk about the latest Red Sox news. They start off by breaking down the Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin trade. They then discuss the Isiah Kiner-Falefa signing, how he fits with the current Red Sox roster, and where the team goes from here. After that, they discuss the other transactions over the last few weeks including new NRIs and a minor trade. They wrap up the show talking about the offseason ex-Red Sox front office members Chaim Bloom and Paul Toboni have had and where the Red Sox rank in the newly released Baseball America Top 100.

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Fall/Winter League Roundup: Rivera named to Puerto Rico roster in Caribbean Series

With a majority of the winter baseball leagues having wrapped up play in recent weeks and spring training just around the corner, only a pair of leagues are still in action. While the Venezuelan Winter League's championship series commences, the Caribbean Series kicked off on Sunday. This week's roundup covers the past week. For more stats on Red Sox players this winter, check out the SoxProspects' Fall & Winter Leagues page. 

Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM)

Leones del Escogido claimed the league championship by defeating Toros del Este four games to one, capped off with a 1-0 win in Game 5 on Jan. 27. While he did not appear in any of the games in the series, outfielder Allan Castro appeared in 13 games for Toros del Este, hitting .262 with a home run, eight runs batted in and a .724 OPS. 

Rivera added to Caribbean Series roster

As the 68th edition of the series kicked off on Sunday, a single Boston farmhand appears to be on the roster for the slate. Left-hander Eduardo Rivera continues his strong showing this winter with a spot on the Puerto Rican team. Rivera tossed 15 innings for Cangrejeros de Santurce, striking out 10 hitters while recording a 3.00 ERA and .87 WHIP. Rivera joined the Boston organization in the summer of 2024 on a Minor League contract but did not appear in any games until 2025. Making stops at Greenville and Portland, Rivera threw 87 innings with 108 strikeouts and a 2.48 ERA between the two levels. 

Photo Credit: Eduardo Rivera by Kelly O'Connor

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