Fort Report: Early breaks camp with Boston; Mayer named starter at second base

Spring Training concludes on Tuesday with Boston's season set to kick off on Thursday in Cincinnati. Worcester will be the only affiliate in action this week as the WooSox begin their season on Friday at home against Syracuse. Portland, Greenville, and Salem will all start the first week of April. 

The Red Sox finalized their position player group on Monday with Andruw Monasterio and Connor Wong officially making the opening day roster. Wong will be the backup catcher, while Monasterio will combine with Isiah Kiner-Falefa to be the primary infield backups. This news comes on the heels of the Red Sox announcing that Caleb Durbin will be the starting third baseman with Marcelo Mayer starting at second. The bench is rounded out by Masataka Yoshida who figures to be the fifth outfielder and primary pinch-hitter against right-handed pitching. 

The pitching staff is mostly set, though there are still a few lingering questions on roles and injuries. The big story is Connelly Early (pictured, right) breaking camp with the team. The system's third-ranked prospect was one of the top pitchers this spring, posting an ERA of 1.59 with 16 strikeouts in 17 innings. It is not clear yet if Early or Johan Oviedo will be the team's fifth starter, but Early will be with the team on Thursday when they take on the Reds. 

Rule 5 pick Ryan Watson also made the team. Watson allowed six runs over his first five innings, but he was able to bounce back with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball. It will be the MLB debut for the 28-year-old who finished last season in Triple-A with the Giants. The last big question for the bullpen is if Danny Coulombe is healthy enough to be with the team out of camp. He is currently battling an illness. 

Mike and Chris joined Ian for a podcast recorded live from Fort Myers. The guys discussed the World Baseball Classic finale, Spring Training cuts, and the Spring Breakout roster. Stay tuned for lots more updates based on first-hand reports. 

The following players were optioned to Worcester and will headline the WooSox lineup when the season kicks off on Friday: Kristian Campbell, Nick Sogard, Nate Eaton, Mickey Gasper, and Tsung-Che Cheng. 

On the pitching front, Payton Tolle, Tyler Uberstine, Zack Kelly, and Tyler Samaniego got optioned to Worcester. Tolle is the big name as the system's top prospect, but all four players had an outside shot to make the team when the spring began. Tolle was electric this spring with 13 strikeouts over 10 2/3, and Samaniego did not allow a run in his 5 1/3 innings. Some people had Kelly penciled into the major league bullpen, but he struggled with his control in limited action as he walked five over 6 2/3 frames with a 5.40 ERA. 

Additionally, the follow players who are not on the 40-man roster we reassigned to minor league camp: Noah Song, Seth Martinez, TJ Sikkema, Wyatt Olds, Max Ferguson, Tyler McDonough, Mikey Romero, Allan Castro, Nathan Hickey, Alec Gamboa, Tayron Guerrero, Kyle Keller, Jason Delay, Vinny Capra, Braiden Ward and Matt Thaiss. Thaiss had an upward mobility clause in his contract, but he will remain with the WooSox and figures to be the starting catcher. Song was excellent in the major league portion of spring training, allowing only one run while striking out nine over eight innings. Ward quickly became a fan favorite this spring, using his plus-plus speed to post the most steals in a single spring by any player since MLB started recording preseason stats in 2006.

 

The third annual Spring Breakout game took place on Friday, with the Red Sox losing to the Orioles 3-1. The lone run scored on a home run from Henry Godbout (pictured, left), and Marvin Alcantara added a double. Five of the system's top 10 prospects took the mound, with Juan Valera and Anthony Eyanson being the stars of the night. Valera and Eyanson both hit 100 mph, with Eyanson striking out the side in the eighth and Valera firing two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. 

As the Red Sox continue to look for bullpen reinforcements, the team signed Tommy Kahnle to a minor league deal. Kahnle has pitched in 436 2/3 innings over 11 seasons in the big leagues, including six with the Yankees. He notched a 4.43 ERA in 63 innings with the Tigers last season, and he threw two shutout frames for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. His contract includes an assignment clause on May 1, and an opt-out on June 1. Danny Coulombe was signed two weeks ago, but his deal was renegotiated last week after an issue arose in his medical reviews. Some of his guarantees were turned into incentives, so he can still make the same amount if he remains healthy and on the roster. 

A slew of players were added to the injured list to begin the season. Osvaldo Berrios, Hobie Harris, Caden Vire, Matt Fraizer, CJ Liu, Yordanny Monegro, Zach Fogell, Matt Duffy, Nicholas Judice, Brady Tygart, and Trennor O'Donnell got placed on the 60-day injured list. Vire, Monegro, Fogell, Duffy, and O'Donnell all had either Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure in 2025. Isaac Stebens got placed on the full-season injured list after undergoing Tommy John surgery in February of this year. 

The Red Sox also got bad news on Brendan Rodgers as he underwent right shoulder labral revision surgery and is expected to miss the entire season. Another player signed to a minor league contract in the offseason will not play in 2026, as Vinny Nittoli underwent an internal brace procedure. 

The Red Sox released Noah Dean, Tyler Miller, Fraymi De Leon, Corey Rosier, Phillip Sikes, Jesus Lugo, Efren Teran, Edwin Brito, and Yan Cruz. De Leon received Boston's biggest bonus in the 2022 international class ($1,200,000), and Brito received the third-largest bonus ($450,000) in Boston’s 2024 international signing class. Dean was the highest drafted player released, as the Red Sox took him in the fifth round in 2022 out of Old Dominion.

Boston signed Santiago Yanes out of the Dominican Republic and Emanuel Jimenez out of Venezuela. Signing bonus information is not available, but both figure to be in the $10,000 range as the team only had $27,500 available in its bonus pool. 

Catcher Luke Heyman joined the organization in the offseason after coming over from Seattle in exchange for Alex Hoppe. Jason Varitek also came to Boston from Seattle in a trade for a reliever, but the parallels do not stop there. Both players graduated from Lake Brantley High in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Christopher Smith of MassLive talked with Heyman about growing up as a Red Sox fan and what it has been like in his first spring with the team. 

Two players who struggled in short stints with Boston last season were in the news last week. Walker Buehler has made the Padres opening day roster after posting 13 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings this spring. He figures to be in the starting rotation as San Diego deals with some early injuries. Liam Hendriks also had a good showing this spring with Minnesota, and he was granted his release from the club. He will look to catch on elsewhere before the season starts. 

The Red Sox will no longer see a familiar face in the division, as Connor Seabold opted out of his contract with the Blue Jays and signed on with the Tigers. Seabold saw his velocity bump up this year, and he was able to leverage that into a spot on Detroit's opening day roster.