Despite the dozen trades the Boston Red Sox made this offseason, fans are arguably most excited for Roman Anthony's first fulll season in the big leagues. His arrival at spring training in Fort Myers showed that excitement is justified.
Anthony has visibly bulked up since last season and he looks ready to crush every baseball that comes his way this coming year. The Rookie of the Year finalist was only 21 when he debuted last season and still had plenty of growing to do, but he allegedly added 15 pounds over the offseason (which A's designated hitter Brent Rooker took great pleasure in refuting).
Red Sox's Roman Anthony reportedly gained 15 pounds over the offseason
Multiple pictures of Anthony have made the rounds on social media, including some digitally altered ones that look, well, insane. But Red Sox fans are excited to see what a newly-built Anthony can bring to the plate in 2026.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has identified Anthony as one of the few sources of home run power in the lineup, which is a big ask for a player of his age. But if anyone can live up to the challenge, it's Anthony.
Red Sox sign righty pitcher Harrison Blum to a minor league deal
Even after the start of spring training, Boston has continued improving its pitching depth (of which it already has tons). The Red Sox on February 12 signed right-handed pitcher Harrison Blum to a minor league deal, reported by Andrew Parker of SoxProspects.
Blum, like many of Boston's other recently acquired pitchers, is massive, standing at six-foot-seven and 240 pounds. He has no professional baseball experience, but he played six years of college ball between Luther College and Augustana University. He posted a 3.81 ERA with 267 strikeouts and 112 walks over 264.2 innings in his college career.
Twins sign former Red Sox reliever Liam Hendriks to a minor league deal
Liam Hendriks was a Red Sox for two seasons, although fans hardly knew it. The veteran and three-time All-Star battled injuries during his two years in Boston and he was kept off the mound for all but 13.2 innings in those seasons.
After some rough years, he'll have a chance at another run in the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins, who signed him to a minor league deal on February 12. The Twins were the team that brought Hendriks, a Perth, Australia native, to the big leagues to begin his career, and since he turned 37 the day before he signed, he could also end his career with them.
Hendriks has posted a 3.88 ERA with 116 saves over his 14 years in the big leagues and a 6.59 ERA over his very short tenure with the Red Sox. Boston fans never got to know Hendriks, as he spent so little time with the team, but it will be nice for his personality to return to the big leagues, where he can hopefully continue his career on a high note.