The Boston Red Sox have some big decisions to make this spring training. From stars departing in free agency to other stars getting hurt and for hoping new faces turn into stars, this season will certainly be a fascinating one to watch for Red Sox fans.
There is intrigue all across the roster, but we decided to highlight the key roster battles that we are expected to see this spring in camp. The pitching staff, both the rotation as well as the bullpen, feature prominently as you can imagine along with some infield odds and ends.
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To help out in camp, Boston brought in a familiar face as Dustin Pedroia made an appearance as a guest instructor. By all accounts, Pedroia brought a ton of energy into camp during his cameo, but those hoping that he will joining the coaching staff are likely to be disappointed. It sounds like, at least in the near-term, that he is happily enjoying his retirement.
Finally, we had a post go up on the site about reliever Ryan Brasier and why he could be primed for a bounce back season in 2023. While the overall results were far from ideal last season, there is still plenty of cause for optimism if you dig deeper into the metrics.
MLB News
It was a pretty quiet day across the league as players settle into their respective spring camps. One player that is going to at least try to have a particularly loud season in 2023 is the Pirates' Oneil Cruz. After an electric rookie season where he displayed tools all over the place as well as a propensity for striking out, Cruz has his eyes on a a 30/30 or even a 40/40 season. Dream big, rook....dream big.
We did get some arbitration news as the Mariners won their arbitration against Teoscar Hernandez. Seattle just acquired Hernandez this past offseason to provide some pop to their lineup, at least in the short-term. Hernandez is set to become a free agent after the season and for his final season of arbitration eligibility, he will pocket a nice $14 million vs. the $16 million he was after.
The Angels had a pair of arbitration results announced as well as they beat Gio Urshela, but lost to Hunter Renfroe. Urshela will earn $8.4 million in 2023 (he filed at $10 million) while Renfroe will take home $11.9 million which is a bit more than the $11.25 million LA filed at. Both players are set to become free agents after the 2023 season.