Spring is Here! Boston Red Sox Pitchers and Catchers Report
Today marks the beginning of baseball activities for the 2012 Boston Red Sox. Pitchers and Catchers report today and the team has invited fans to attend the first three days of baseball at the new JetBlue Park inFort Myers, Florida. From 9:00AM to 12:00 PM today, Monday, and Tuesday fans are invited to watch the first workouts for pitchers and catchers and get an early look at the new digs. Position players report to camp on Thursday this week.
With the first throwing sessions happening today, the Battle Royale for the last two rotation slots begins now. Boston was expected to add pitching and the added a ton of it. However, the Red Sox did not land any of the big names like C.J. Wilson, Mark Buehrle or Edwin Jackson that headlined the free agent market. The team also missed out on the top pitcher traded this off-season, Gio Gonzalez. Instead Boston signed a plethora of pitchers to minor league deals. The team signed Carlos Silva, Aaron Cook, Vicente Padilla, John Maine, Brandon Duckworth, Ross Ohlendorf, and Justin Germano and brought back Andrew Miller to compete for the final rotation spot. Minor league players Felix Doubront and Alex Wilson will also get a shot at the final spot in the rotation.
The number four spot will also be up for grabs. Setup man Daniel Bard is expected to be the number four man, but fellow reliever Alfredo Aceves will also workout as a starter. Aceves may be best suited for the role he played last year, which was something between a swing man and a 7th inning guy, but a successful camp could see him land in the rotation as well.
While the rotation might be completely up in the air, one thing is certain; this spring will be very different from past training camps. New Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine has been outspoken about his desire to run a camp with less downtime and more skill development. With all of the pitchers vying for work with the big league club and Valentine’s Japanese style approach to Spring Training, the pre-season should be packed with updates, speculation, and intrigue.
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