Spring training is here again
Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers begin reporting to their Fort Myers spring training camps this week, as preparations for another season of Major League Baseball get underway across Florida.
Fort Myers has the distinction of being the only city in the state with two spring training baseball stadiums, with JetBlue Park for the Red Sox, and Hammond Stadium at Lee Health Sports Complex for the Twins.
The city has hosted spring training workouts for 101 years, since the Philadelphia Athletics began spending their springs at Terry Park Ballfield. That turned out to be a good move for the A’s, as that season produced the rookie campaigns of Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove, three of the greatest baseball players to ever play their respective positions.
The Red Sox opened up camp on Tuesday for pitchers and catchers, while the Twins start camp on Thursday.
For the Red Sox and Twins, this spring will be one of major upheaval for both teams.
Red Sox
The Red Sox lost their star third baseman Alex Bregman to free agency, less than a year after they traded their former All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers to help make room for Bregman. Bregman signed with the Cubs instead this offseason.
The team traded for infielder Caleb Durbin this week, who could see time at second or third base.
Boston will also be turning to its group of young players to help the team. The club’s highly-touted prospects of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell all made their rookie debuts last year and will be looking to build on those campaigns.
The Red Sox went 89-73 last season, finishing third in the American League East.
Their pitching rotation underwent an overhaul as they traded promising young right-hander Hunter Dobbins for first baseman Wilson Contreras. They have not re-signed lefty starter Walker Buehler or right-hander Lucas Giolito. Instead, they acquired St. Louis Cardinals starter Sonny Gray in a trade, and signed former Phillies southpaw to a five-year, $130 million deal.
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is returning off a stellar campaign in which he was runner-up in the American League Cy Young voting. Crochet led the American league with 205 innings pitched and led all Major League pitchers with 255 strikeouts. His 2.59 ERA was third-best in the American League.
Offensively, the team will get back its top hitters in Jarren Duran, Trevor Story, Wilyer Abreu, and Cedanne Rafaela. Infielder Romy Gonzalez, who led the team in batting last year with a .305 average, has been dealing with a shoulder injury, it was reported this week.
Twins
The Minnesota Twins appear to be in rebuild mode after they traded away many of their top players at the trade deadline last summer. They finished 70-92 last season, fourth in the American League Central.
They dealt away about one-third of their clubhouse, including All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa, closer Jhoan Duran, outfielder Harrison Bader, infielder Ty France, infielder Willi Castro, and pitchers Chris Paddack, Randy Dobnak, Danny Coulombe, Brock Stewart, Louis Varland and Griffin Jax.
On the positive side, the Twins have good pitching depth. Their rotation is headed by Pablo Lopez, who is coming off a career-best 2.74 ERA though he was limited to 14 games due to injury. Right-hander Joe Ryan posted a career-low ERA of 3.42 while striking out 194 batters over 172 innings. The team gets back right-handers Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson, as well as young right-hander Zebby Matthews — who made his pro debut last year. They picked up southpaw Mick Abel in their trade of Bader. They also have young right-hander David Festa, who showed promise in 10 starts with the club where he struck out 53 batters in 53 innings.
Like the Red Sox, the Twins will be counting on a group of young players to improve and pick up the slack. That includes infielder Luke Keaschall, who batted .302 in his rookie season last year. Brooks Lee and Austin Martin are two of their other young hitters who could make an impact with some improvement this year. The club signed Josh Bell from the Nationals to play first base.
The Twins are led at the plate and in the field by stalwart centerfielder Byron Buxton, who hit a career-high 35 homers last year. Buxton batted .264, and stole 24 bases (the most he has stolen since 2017). The Twins lineup will also get back catcher Ryan Jeffers, and outfielders Trevor Larnach and Kody Clemens. The team’s bullpen will be its biggest question, after all of last year’s trades.
The club hopes infielder Royce Lewis will be able to stay healthy after several seasons of fighting injuries though when healthy has shown flashes of brilliance.
What to known about attending Red Sox and Twins camp
This will be the 15th season for the Red Sox in Fort Myers.
Workouts, which are free and open to the public, start at 9:30 a.m. and are expected to include 33 pitchers and eight catchers.
The team’s first full-squad workout is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 15. The Red Sox are expected to have 65 players in camp (including 25 non-roster invitees), with 11 infielders, six outfielders, and seven infielder/outfielders joining the pitchers and catchers.
Fans may enter the complex through the West Gate beginning at 9 a.m. Additionally, tours of JetBlue Park are also available seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., through March 23. Tickets for tours may be purchased from the JetBlue Park box office beginning at 9:45 a.m. and cost $10 per person, with children 12 and under able to enter for free. Game day VIP tour packages are also available and cost $50 per person and $20 for children 12 and under. These tours are offered on a first-come, first-served basis and must be prearranged in advance by calling 239-226-4772.
Concessions and merchandise will be on sale during these workouts. The Red Sox team store will be open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. during workouts and will transition to remaining open one hour following games, beginning on Feb. 20. JetBlue Park is accepting only digital forms of payment this season. Tickets to 2026 Spring Training games are available online at redsox.com/tickets as well as the JetBlue Park Box Office daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All workouts from Feb. 10-19 will take place at the Fenway South Player Development Complex, located at 11500 Fenway South Drive in Fort Myers.
Spring Training games begin at JetBlue Park on Friday, Feb. 20 at 1:05 p.m. with a game against the Northeastern University Huskies. The Grapefruit League schedule launches on the road at Hammond Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1:05 p.m. against the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins will open camp for pitchers and catchers on Thursday. Full-squad workouts are scheduled to begin on Monday.
Attending spring training workouts is free for fans. Tickets for games can be purchased at www.mlb.com/twins/tickets/spring-training.
The Twins will play their first spring training game at Hammond Stadium on Feb. 20 against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at 6:05 p.m. They will host the Red Sox on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1:05 p.m. at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.
To reach NATHAN MAYBERG, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com