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Boston Globe
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Red Sox prepare Roman Anthony for Fenway Park debut in left field Wednesday
He prepared for that task Tuesday afternoon — under a sweltering sun, more than four hours before first pitch — by doing defensive drills with and receiving instruction from outfield coach Kyle Hudson . Hudson and Jarren Duran , the Red Sox' primary left fielder, have been instrumental in helping Anthony learn the 37-foot Monster, Anthony said. Through his first month in the majors, Anthony has split time mostly between right field and designated hitter. He played left once, but that came in San Francisco, not Boston. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The key, in Duran's view, is to get as much practice as possible, via early work like Anthony did or during batting practice, when hitters routinely slam balls off the wall. That is the only way to learn the 'craziest things,' like how balls come off the kooky nooks and crannies, Duran said. Advertisement 'Honestly, it's just instincts. You've got to trust your instincts. It's weird,' Duran said. 'To the right of the ladder, the ball is always going to kick to center. Balls at the ladder and to the left are going to kick straight or almost even toward the line. Learning things like that — from playing it and seeing it and watching video and seeing how stuff bounces off — [is important]. Advertisement Duran suggested watching video of Andrew Benintendi playing Fenway's left field 'back in the day.' 'He played the Monster like an absolute stud,' Duran said. The piece of advice that has most resonated with Anthony: Keep the ball in front of you. If it bounces off the wall and then trickles by, back toward the infield, the chance of throwing out the runner at second base evaporates — and he might even get to third. 'How to keep it in front of me is the biggest thing and the biggest thing for anyone playing the Monster,' Anthony said. 'Always having that angle to just get somebody out at second base I think is important.' Duran said: 'The tricky ones are the ones that are high. You're like, is this going to hit the wall? Is it not? Those are the ones that nick the wall and get past you. But those are also the ones where you're like, all right, he's already going to get a double, so why not try to make a play on it? As long as you can hold him from a triple, it's OK.' Anthony has played in front of the Red Sox' Monster facsimiles at Double A Portland's Hadlock Field (the Maine Monster) and at JetBlue Park at the team's spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla. But there is nothing quite like the real deal. 'You can't really replicate Fenway, as much as they do a great job at other places,' Anthony said. 'It's kind of its own thing. Let's see how it works.' Advertisement Mum on Mayer Cora was coy regarding Marcelo Mayer's role upon the return of Alex Bregman (strained right quad), perhaps as soon as late this week. 'We have to wait,' Cora said. 'We have to wait to make decisions. I can answer that question later.' Mayer, who was called up to the majors for the first time in late May, when Bregman got hurt, has mostly played third base in that stint. The Red Sox have used David Hamilton and Romy Gonzalez in a platoon at second base. On the bench for a fourth consecutive game Tuesday (as the Sox faced a fourth lefthanded starter in a row), Mayer owned a .214 average and .665 OPS. Hendriks hurt again Liam Hendriks suffered a setback with his injured right hip, causing him to likely seek a second opinion, Cora said. The team transferred Hendriks to the 60-day injured list, delaying his eligibility to return until late July, but that sounds like a longshot. 'It wasn't good [Monday],' Cora said. 'He said the harder he pushed, he felt it. I don't want to say we're back to square one, but they'll talk and seek other opinions and see what happens.' Call to arms A day after righthander Richard Fitts nabbed his first major league win, the Red Sox sent him down to Triple A Worcester in a bit of pre-All-Star break roster maximizing. Righthanded reliever Isaiah Campbell was called up to take Fitts's place. Cora said they wanted the extra bullpen arm temporarily because of others' recent workloads. Hunter Dobbins (right elbow strain) has a 'good chance' to return to the rotation this week, probably Friday, replacing Fitts. Garrett Crochet is penciled in for Saturday (with an extra day of rest), Cora said. Advertisement Campbell, 27, had a 16.20 ERA in eight appearances for the Sox last year. He was much better — 3.89 ERA — with Worcester this season. He said he added a sinker to help him against righthanded batters and a curveball against lefties. 'Obviously, last year wasn't great, wasn't what I wanted,' Campbell said. 'But I'm excited for a new, clean slate. The team is rolling right now, so whatever I can do to help, that's what my goal is.' Rafaela up to sixth Ceddanne Rafaela moving up to sixth in the batting order was a result of Carlos Narváez having the day off, Cora said. In general, the Sox like Rafaela at or near the bottom of the lineup, despite his hot hitting. 'The numbers are the numbers. I get it,' Cora said. 'He's one of our best hitters. But him hitting eighth, ninth is great for this team.' Tim Healey can be reached at
Boston Globe
21-02-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Red Sox prospects Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer get their first game action in spring training
Related : Both are well beyond the college ranks, but it's always good to get the first one out of the way. 'It was really cool,' said Campbell. 'I enjoyed it a lot, getting out there with the fans.' 'It felt like old times,' added Mayer, who played up the middle with Campbell for Double A Portland last season. 'At one point it felt like we were back in Portland. And he even said when we were out there, 'Like, this feels like we're Portland again.' But it was really good to be out there.' Related : Advertisement With Grapefruit League play slated to begin Saturday against the Rays, the Sox will use every chance to get a good look at both players, who are in their first big-league camp. Mayer has to prove he can remain healthy and likely will start the season with Triple A Worcester. But Campbell, however, has a real shot of making the club after his breakout year in the minors. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Campbell hit a sharp line drive to center in his second at-bat but it was caught. Manager Alex Cora said he felt Mayer had a great day in the field, and that he makes it look easy. Local talent Northeastern outfielder Cam Maldonado is making noise in New England as he heads into his junior season. The Connecticut native is expected to be a top-round pick in this year's MLB Draft. Credit to his production and hard work. Games like Friday's against the Red Sox help give him some idea of what he will be seeing once he makes that leap to the minors. Related : 'I feel like the velocity is the same as college,' said Maldonado. 'But the pitchers here, they just know how to paint, paint every single ball, to be honest. They know where to throw the ball, and where not to.' Maldonado held his own in the Cape Cod League last summer, hitting .258/.357/.427 with a .784 OPS and five homers. Advertisement Maldonado doesn't take this moment for granted, knowing how tough it is for players from cold-weather states to reach his position. 'We deal with a lot, Northeastern,' said Maldonado. 'We don't have everything like the SEC schools and we just got to grind it and I love that. That brings out another type of animal.' Penrod hurting Zach Penrod underwent an MRI after dealing with soreness in his elbow. Cora said he should have more information Saturday … Top prospect Roman Anthony was a late scratch after getting hit on the right arm with a pitch during live batting practice Thursday. He's just sore and is day to day … David Hamilton , Vaughn Grissom , and Ceddanne Rafaela will play in Saturday's game at Port Charlotte. Julian McWilliams can be reached at
