Boston's top 3 storylines to follow this spring

This story was excerpted from Ian Browne's Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BOSTON -- The beauty of Spring Training is that it creates time for storylines to evolve. The Red Sox, in their quest to return to the postseason for the first time since 2021, have a few. Here are three of the most interesting.

1. Will Campbell or Anthony make the team?
For multiple years, Boston¡¯s top prospects have drawn a buzz, and with good reason. Outfielder Roman Anthony is No. 2 in MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 100, while infielder/outfielder Kristian Campbell weighs in at No. 7 and shortstop Marcelo Mayer rounds out the impressive trio at No. 12.

Campbell has the clearest path to make the club for a couple of reasons. The first is that he wields a right-handed bat and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has been trying to bring more balance to a lefty-heavy lineup for the last couple of years. The second reason is second base. That is one of the many positions Campbell can play, and perhaps the only one that remains up for grabs.

Anthony, a left-handed hitter, has all the tools to be a star. The problem is that the Red Sox are deep in the outfield with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and solid platoon player Rob Refsnyder. That isn¡¯t to say Anthony can¡¯t win a job by having an excellent camp. A team can always find a spot for a potential young star, provided that star is ready to excel at the highest level.

Mayer is the most unlikely of the three to make the club because he didn¡¯t get to play at Triple-A Worcester following his promotion last August due to a lumbar strain that forced an early end to his season. While Mayer is a shortstop, a position held by Trevor Story, manager Alex Cora recently said that the fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft will get some time at third base and second to increase his versatility.

2. Who will perform last call?
Kenley Jansen did a fine job closing games for the Red Sox the past two seasons, but he is a free agent and there doesn¡¯t seem to be interest from either side on a reunion. Boston¡¯s bullpen has two pitchers with plenty of closing experience in Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman. Hendriks hasn¡¯t pitched since 2023 due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery, but he is considered a full-go entering camp and will receive every chance to win the job. Chapman, the fireballing lefty who was signed as a free agent on Dec. 10, has been used primarily as a setup man in recent years.

However, he saved 14 games for the Pirates last season.

Looking for a dark-horse candidate? That would be Justin Slaten, a success story as a Rule 5 Draft pick last season. Slaten throws in the upper 90s and pitched in call kinds of pressurized situations in his rookie year, posting a 1.012 WHIP in 44 games.

There¡¯s always the chance Boston could go without a set closer, since Cora has never preferred to have structure in the late innings.

3. Which young guys will take the leap?
When you have a young core like the Red Sox do, it¡¯s sometimes hard to predict the leap a player can make from season to season. For instance, can Wilyer Abreu eliminate some of his swing-and-miss and be a consistent hitter? At times in his rookie year, Abreu was one of the best hitters on the team. But he tailed off down the stretch. What kind of year can Triston Casas have coming off a season during which he missed four months with a left rib cage injury? Heading into 2024, some experts have projected that Casas could hit between 35 and 40 homers. He¡¯ll try to live up to that in ¡¯25. Ceddanne Rafaela is already an elite defender, but he has the athleticism to be a bigger factor on offense. To do so, he¡¯ll have to cut down on his strikeouts.

On the pitching side, Brayan Bello was inconsistent after signing a contract extension on March 9. With the rotation now fronted by ace Garrett Crochet and two veterans in Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito, the hope is that Bello will thrive by putting less pressure on himself. Tanner Houck had an All-Star first half last season, and his goal in ¡¯25 is to maintain his level of excellence over a full season.