Red Sox Brass Sending This Message To Young Pitchers

The Boston Red Sox have gotten a ton of attention for their “Big Three” prospects: Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel. It’s a group that’s expected to help usher in a new era of winning baseball.

They’re all position players, though. What about the pitchers?

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, in just a few months on the job, has started the process to rebuild the organization’s pitching depth. The situation is far from perfect, and the big-league club’s rotation leaves a lot to be desired, but there are a few players now in the pipeline who could spark excitement from the fanbase.

The group, which includes newcomers Justin Slaten, Isaiah Campbell and Richard Fitts and prospects Wikelman Gonzalez and Luis Perales, has already gotten a taste of Fenway Park through Red Sox development camp — where they’ve begun work on reaching a common goal.

“I think at the end of the day, if you’re wearing a Red Sox uniform, it doesn’t matter how we acquire players as long as they can help the club,” Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham told reporters last month. “Slaten, Campbell and Fitts so far have been great to the group. … They work hard. They’ve been really excited to be a part of this, coming from a different organization it’s hard not to view the Red Sox as being a storied franchise and saying, ‘I want to help this franchise get back to the top and be a World Series contender.’ “

“I think the main goal is to win a World Series.”

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Red Sox prospect Wikelman Gonzalez

The Red Sox aren’t expecting any of these guys to step in and become an ace right away but clearly have detailed the importance of winning to those on the brink of making it to the big leagues. It’s in conversations with Breslow and Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey, as well as with each other, that the message has developed.

They want to find success, and they want to find it together.

“I’m trying to be the best that I can be,” Fitts told NESN.com last month. “(Red Sox director of pitching) Justin Willard has been awesome for me. He’s kind of taken me in from the very beginning, and getting to talk with Breslow and Bailey — everything has been awesome. We don’t see this as a rebuild at all. I’m jumping in, I’m wanting to earn a spot. There are big leaguers ahead of me, and there’s guys that have made an impact and will continue to make an impact. We’re just trying to be better from here on out. It’s not a rebuild, you know, we’re getting better.”

“We’ve had a couple conversations. I’ve had a Zoom call with the pitching staff. We had a group conversation (Jan. 17) and they kind of just hammered in our heads what the philosophy is, what the game plan is. I enjoyed it,” Campbell added. “I enjoyed the conversation. I think it’s a really good game plan and I trust these guys. I think everyone around here, in talking to and meeting everybody, it’s a really good group of guys. I think everybody is going to work really well together, whether it’s Richard (Fitts) or Justin (Slaten), like all the new guys — a lot of us are in this together, in a new organization and a new system, new situation. It helps just being out here and being able to be with these guys, talk to them and grow and learn as a group. It’s been awesome.”

Boston’s ability to bring its youngsters together was invaluable, with Breslow’s vision becoming clear to everyone in the organization.

“I don’t think he’s just focused on pitching,” Gonzalez told NESN, via translator Carlos Villoria. “I think the main goal is to win a World Series and have everybody prepared and ready to contribute at some point, and that’s why everybody’s here.”