It’s officially baseball season.
Opening Day is more than a month away, but pitchers and catchers reported to Red Sox spring training Tuesday, with the team’s first official workout scheduled for Wednesday.
Several position players already are down in Fort Myers, Fla., too, and those players who aren’t are expected to join the club at JetBlue Park in the coming days, as the first full-squad workout is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 19. The Red Sox are expected to have 56 players in camp, with 14 infielders and eight outfielders joining the pitchers and catchers (including 16 non-roster invitees).
It’s been a quiet offseason for the Red Sox, who lost to the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series after winning their second straight division title. There’s still a different vibe surrounding this year’s team, though, in large part because Boston has a new manager, Alex Cora, and several young players primed to take the next step as the Red Sox go after their fourth World Series title since 2004.
Let’s look at some of the biggest storylines facing the Red Sox over the next few weeks before they begin their 2018 regular-season schedule against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on March 29.
