Red Sox manager lays out expectations for top prospects

What are realistic expectations for the Red Sox’s top prospects in 2025?

Should people expect Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell to come in and play a starring role right away? Should the club avoid adding any players who could potentially block their paths, or should the Red Sox proceed as if they won’t contribute in the majors this year at all?

Following a panel event with students at Lawrence High School on Friday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora offered clarity on how he sees the talented youngsters fitting into the puzzle this year.

“One thing for sure and throughout the history of this organization is rookies come here to contribute, rookies don’t come here to carry teams,” Cora said. “That’s something we have to be very honest, and if they become the players we envision that will be awesome, but whenever they get here we’re not going to ask them to carry the offense or be the savior defensively. We want them to contribute in every aspect of the game and help us win ballgames.”

Anthony, Mayer and Campbell, all of whom rank as consensus top-25 prospects in baseball, are three of the club’s biggest wild cards heading into the new season. Anthony and Campbell in particular are viewed as preseason Rookie of the Year favorites according to a recent MLB Pipeline poll, but with the Red Sox still in the market for a new right-handed bat to replace Tyler O’Neill, it’s unclear what roles will be available for the prospects to compete for.

No matter how things shake out, Cora’s assertion that the prospects won’t be counted on is an indication the Red Sox will at some point make another outside addition to the lineup.

“The offseason isn’t over, it doesn’t mean that we’re stalling or whatever, it’s not over,” Cora said. “It’s the reality of the business and the front office is working hard to put a good product on the field.”

One of the most heavily discussed possibilities recently has been the potential addition of former Houston Astros infielder Alex Bregman, the top right-handed hitter remaining on the free agent marketplace. Though he refused to talk about Bregman or any other unsigned free agent specifically, Cora did lay out some qualities he’d like to see in a right-handed bat.

“Good hitters. Pull hitters,” Cora said. “(Tyler O’Neill) did an outstanding job hitting homers at Fenway, (Adam Duvall) did it two years ago, (Hunter) Renfroe did it a few years ago, we need right-handed power hitters.”

On the whole, Cora said he believes the Red Sox are much improved from the end of last season and should be better equipped to perform on pitching and defense. The additions to the pitching staff especially should help the Red Sox in the second half, when the club has historically fallen back of the pack over the past three years.

“The deeper the better, that’s the most important thing. Obviously the last few years pitching-wise we ran out of bullets,” Cora said. “We get to August and injuries come into play, fatigue and all that stuff, and we didn’t play well in August and September. That’s happened three years in a row, this year is a little bit different, we’re deeper, we have tough decisions to make in spring training, which is great. When you have to make tough decisions you’re going to be OK.”

Giving back

With most of the team and coaching staff in town for this weekend’s Fenway Fest fan event, members of the Red Sox paid a visit to Lawrence and to East Boston High School on Friday to meet with students and teachers. In addition to numerous classroom visits, Cora was joined by game planning coach Jason Varitek and players Wilyer Abreu, Luis Guerrero and Liam Hendriks for a panel discussion in the Lawrence High gym.

“It’s great, this weekend is a little bit different than the past few but having the players around town visiting schools, interacting with them, it means a lot,” Cora said. “I’m a big believer that through the foundation, through our people that work with the city, we do an outstanding job, but connecting with them, it means a lot. Obviously we get judged by wins and losses but at the end of the day we’re regular human beings playing a kids game. For us to be able to do this, we’re blessed.”

“It was very special to be able to share some time with the kids,” Abreu said via translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. “We know they were looking forward to it and I know if we can help them a little bit we’re happy to do it and we’re happy to be here.”

During the panel, which was conducted in both English and Spanish, the Red Sox answered questions from students and encouraged those in attendance to follow their dreams.

“Like the great Kevin Garnett said, everything is possible. I walked in, I looked at this school, the facilities, it’s amazing. I wish we had a school like this in Caguas,” Cora said, referring to his home city in Puerto Rico. “They’re blessed. Like (Varitek) said, keep dreaming big. If you do that, take care of your priorities, you’re going to be OK in the future.”

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