With the Super Bowl happening this past weekend, that wraps up football season, meaning baseball’s right around the corner. Pitchers and catchers for the Boston Red Sox reported to Fort Myers on Tuesday, with the rest of the squad reporting on Sunday. This year’s Spring Training will be a little different, however. With the World Baseball Classic happening this year, some players will be playing for their country and missing the preseason. Some of the players are fan favorites, while others could be minor leaguers. Nevertheless, with players leaving to represent their country, there will be some names to look out for in Fort Myers for the Red Sox.
Who Will Miss Spring Training?
Let’s discuss who won’t be there first. With the WBC taking place from March 5th to March 17th, it’s unlikely that any of these players will take part in the preseason. However, exhibition games do take place early in the tournament. The Red Sox players (with their position with Boston) participating in the WBC are:
Red Sox in WBC:
- Garrett Whitlock, RHP, United States
- Jarren Duran, OF, Mexico
- Wilyer Abreu, OF, Venezuela
- Willson Contreras, 1B, Venezuela
- Ranger Suarez, LHP, Venezuela
- Brayan Bello, RHP, Dominican Republic
- Masataka Yoshida, OF/DH, Japan
- Ceddanne Rafaela, OF, Netherlands
- Greg Weissert, RHP, Italy
- Jovani Moran, LHP, Puerto Rico
- Nate Eaton, UTIL, Great Britain
- Jack Anderson, RHP, Great Britain
- Tayron Guerrero, RHP, Colombia
- Tsung Che-Cheng, IF, Chinese Taipei
Looking at this group, right off the bat, the starting outfielders from Opening Day last year are all going, as well as some key pitchers. While there might be some disappointment that someone’s favorite player won’t be in Fort Myers, there’s always the chance of a non-roster player or a guy on the 40-man to break out. Just look at Trayce Thompson last year. He hit .300 and tied for the MLB lead in homers during this span (six). Here are some under-the-radar breakout candidates to look out for over the next few weeks.
Possible Breakout Candidates:
Jacob Webb, RHP
With the rotation and bullpen diminishing during the WBC, all eyes could be on Payton Tolle or Connelly Early. And rightfully so, seeing as they had tremendous contributions to push Boston into the playoffs. But with the number of pitchers given up this offseason, such as Hunter Dobbins and David Sandlin, most of the young pitching depth that Craig Breslow claimed to have has been traded away. So now it’s time for some younger guys to prove their worth, starting with this preseason. Jacob Webb is one of those guys who could be big for them.
Drafted in 2021, the right-hander has worked his way up through the system the past couple of years. While his ERA this season in Worcester wasn’t the best (6.35), he had a really good overall year. In 2025, he played in Greenville, Portland, and Worcester. The majority of his games were in Portland, where he had a 2-1 record in 10 games out of the bullpen with a 3.26 ERA. As a starter in 2024, he went 10-3 in Portland, but had a 4.28 ERA with 38 earned runs in 80 innings.
His transition from starter to bullpen over the past couple of seasons has decreased his stats. Webb seems to be a stronger pitcher later in the game, allowing just four of his 16 earned runs in the seventh inning or later in 2025. Although he probably won’t be on the opening day roster, Webb could work his way to Worcester and be a viable relief option should someone go down late in the year.
Vinny Capra, INF
The obvious choices for infield breakouts are someone like Mikey Romero or top 100 prospect Franklin Arias. But Vinny Capra signed with the Red Sox in November, and despite his poor performance at the major league level last year, he could get a chance in Fort Myers this year. The problem with him is his position. The middle infield is stacked already with young players who want a chance. This includes Arias, newly acquired Caleb Durbin, and Kristian Campbell, to name a few.
He split part of the year with Milwaukee and the White Sox, having a batting average of .125 in the majors and an OBP of .157. However, that was only across 47 games. He also played part of the season with Chicago’s AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights. It’s a limited sample size, but across 24 games, he hit .286 and has an OPS of .824. Fielding-wise, he only had one error in Charlotte across four positions. He has played in the outfield, but the majority of the games were in the infield. Capra may have struggled in the majors, but his short tenure in the minors last year could be the perfect match for spring training if given the chance.
Allan Castro, OF
For those who haven’t been keeping up with the Red Sox’s minor league system, Allan Castro has been one of the more talked-about names approaching this year’s Spring Training. The 22-year-old signed with the Red Sox as an international free agent in 2019. This past season, he won the Portland Sea Dogs MVP award for the team, hitting .268 with an OBP of .353. In addition, he walked 44 times and had 29 extra-base hits. This was all in 92 games of a possible 138. With all of the starting outfielders out, this is a huge opportunity for someone like Castro to break out and be put on people’s radars.
Nate Baez and Nathan Hickey, C
Nate Baez and Nathan Hickey are bonus picks, as the Red Sox are pretty good on catchers currently as is. Both major league catchers are very good defenders (particularly Carlos Narvaez). But when it comes to the bats, neither of them stands out over the other. Narvaez hit .241 and had close to a 25% K rate, as well as a ground ball rate of 44.3%. And Connor Wong’s struggles were no secret, batting .190 and not getting his first extra base hit till late July. His only consistent playing time was when Bello was pitching, but still, not great.
However, these two are pretty good minor league options. Hickey is more of a power hitter, hitting 17 homers and driving in 75 runs in Worcester. He has a .325 OBP to go with 59 walks and 23 doubles. However, Hickey bats lefty, which shouldn’t be an issue, but Boston has a lot of lefties in their lineup currently. This is Spring Training, though, and with the number of people to cover, there could be opportunities for him to hit. The bigger issue, though, is that he hits .234. With that average, it really does feel like boom or bust with him.
On the other hand, there’s Baez, who, while not much of a power guy, is definitely the better hitter. In 96 games between High-A and Double-A in the Twins system, he hit .278 to go along with a .371 OBP. He hit 29 extra-base hits, eight of which were homers. Defensively, he played almost as much first base as he did catcher, and was actually better there. The fielding% was .997 (one error) at 1st, compared to .984 (six errors) at catcher. He’s also a right-handed hitter, balancing out with Tristan Casas’ left-handed power, should Casas be ready, although he’s more expected for Opening Day while recovering from his left knee injury.
While most of the stars will not be in Fort Myers over the next couple of weeks, that doesn’t mean there are fewer players to be excited for. Keep an eye out for these five players during Spring Training starting in a week and a half.
Main Photo Credit: The News Press
