Red Sox announce Spring Training updates, ticket sales, truck day

The Boston Red Sox have announced several key dates to keep an eye on for next spring along with when you can buy tickets to Grapefruit league games.

We aren’t even a month removed from the Boston Red Sox celebrating their World Series victory and we’re already looking ahead to the start of a new season. The team has announced several key dates to circle on your calendar next spring.

Tickets for Red Sox spring training games go on sale on Saturday, December 1. It feels like we haven’t quite recovered from the adrenaline rush of the 2018 season yet we’re less than three months away from seeing the Red Sox take the field again.

Truck Day is a mere 10 weeks away. The annual event where fans gather outside of Fenway Park to watch the equipment truck depart for Fort Myers is unofficially considered the first sign of spring here in Boston.

Pitchers and catchers report to camp on February 13. The rest of the team will join them for the first full workout on February 18.

The exhibition season kicks off on February 22 when the Red Sox host the Northeastern Huskies at Jet Blue Park. They open Grapefruit League action the next day against the New York Yankees followed by the first meeting with the Minnesota Twins in the battle for the Mayor’s Cup.

Boston will play 32 Grapefruit League games in addition to the spring opener against Northeastern. The spring schedule wraps up against the Chicago Cubs on March 26.

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Don’t expect a heavy workload from the regular starters in the spring. A lengthy postseason run leaves less time to prepare for a new season so the Red Sox will ire on the side of caution by bringing their players along slowly. We saw ace Chris Sale handled with kid gloves last spring and the team might be inclined to be even more careful this time considering he missed much of the second half with shoulder inflammation.

All of the team’s starting pitchers should be eased into spring, with the exception perhaps for those fighting for the No. 5 spot in the rotation if free agent Nathan Eovaldi isn’t re-signed. That’s assuming the Red Sox don’t sign or trade for another proven starter to fill that spot.

Some of the star position players, such as MVP Mookie Betts and Silver Slugger J.D. Martinez, could see reduced playing time this spring. Manager Alex Cora will need to find a balance between giving these stars enough work to prepare for the season and ensuring they make it to Opening Day healthy.

The first game of the regular season is scheduled for March 28 in Seattle. That’s only four months from tomorrow! We’re still basking in the glow of a championship season but the time to defend that title will be here before we know it.