Deadspin has complied a chart of the players who have lost, and gained, the most weight during the offseason, and for Sox fans, they can expect some players to come in trimmer than they were last season.
Bobby Jenks has dropped the second most amount of weight, going from 275 last season to 240 this spring. He only trails Angels manager Mike Scioscia in the weight loss department, as the Los Angeles skipper dropped 38 pounds since last fall. Jenks underwent back surgery in the offseason and will miss a chunk of the summer recuperating.
Ryan Lavarnway reportedly dropped 25 pounds since September, coming into this season at an even 200 pounds. David Ortiz is 17 pounds lighter after dieting during the offseason, and Clay Buchholz joined the weight watchers club, slimming down by five pounds.
AL East Rivals were among the health conscious during the winter months. Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and Rays third baseman Evan Longoria each dropped 15 pounds, along with New York's Nick Swisher who came in free of 11 pounds this spring.
Those numbers are nothing compared with the weight that two Blue Jays dropped, with pitchers Brett Cecil and Carlos Villanueva dropping 32 and 31 pounds, respectively.
On the other end of the spectrum, Twins catcher Joe Mauer is reportedly the biggest weight gainer coming into spring, reporting at 30 pounds heavier than he was in September. Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval also packed on 25 pounds, but he's claiming it's all muscle.
Whether these numbers are consistent throughout the season remains to be seen. Fans will just have to see who is standing strong in crunch time this fall.
