2B? Closer? The unsettled roster battles in Boston

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In one week, the Red Sox will be in Monterrey, Mexico to absorb some culture and get in their final exhibition tuneups against the Sultanes.

Before the team charter leaves the night of March 23, there are several key decisions to make for manager Alex Cora and his staff.

Here is a look at the top three.

Who will start at second base?

This turned into the top position battle in camp once it became clear the Sox weren’t going to move free agent acquisition Alex Bregman off third base. There are three candidates still in play in David Hamilton, Vaughn Grissom and Kristian Campbell (the No. 7 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100).

The thinking going into camp is that the ultra-talented Campbell would be given every chance to win the job. To this point, he hasn’t. And that isn’t all that surprising for a player who was drafted less than two years ago and has all of 70 at-bats at Triple-A.

“Campbell has struggled,” said Cora. “That's part of it, right? Not everybody is going to be able to slow it down in camp and be perfect, but that's part of the progression. But, yeah, I mean, playing time is important, the development of the player is important, but I think winning games right now is more important.”

If a winner had to be declared right now, it would probably be Hamilton, who has looked strong at the plate, in the field, and, of course, on the bases. He is one of the fastest players in the game and got 294 at-bats under his belt last season before breaking his left index finger.

Then there is Grissom, who endured a nightmarish 2024 season after being acquired for Chris Sale. Grissom wasn’t healthy or productive in Spring Training or the regular season last year. This year, his health is not in question. His defense has also looked improved. To this point in camp, Grissom hasn’t gotten it going at the plate.

“He's put together some good at-bats,” said Cora. “He hit the ball hard twice two days ago. He had a great game before that one against the Mets. Hitting .400 and all that is cool for your confidence, but there's more than just the numbers.”

Who gets the ninth inning?

The Red Sox have three players in competition to be the closer -- two of them with plenty of experience in that role in Liam Hendriks and Aroldis Chapman. Not to be overlooked is Justin Slaten, who was arguably Boston’s top reliever as a Rule 5 rookie last season.

Hendriks came in as the perceived frontrunner but has had some tough outings in Grapefruit League action, giving up 12 hits and six runs over five appearances. The righty has hardly pitched since 2022, as he first had to overcome non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and then Tommy John surgery.

Chapman has looked typically powerful, though erratic at times. Slaten has been somewhere in the middle (4.91 ERA in four games on the main diamond).

“They're throwing the ball well,” said Cora. “Liam took a step forward yesterday; we saw that. Chappy has been throwing the ball well, Slaten has been throwing the ball well. Hopefully we have the lead in the ninth in the first game of the season, and somebody will come in and get that save, and we go from there.”

Cora confirmed Sunday he plans on going with a set closer and not a committee.

How will the rotation fill out?

Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck and Walker Buehler will pitch the first three games of the season. With Lucas Giolito (low grade left hamstring strain), Brayan Bello (on the mend from right shoulder inflammation) and Kutter Crawford (right knee) all set to start the season on the injured list, there are as many as five candidates vying for those last two spots.

It seems just about certain that Richard Fitts (No. 14 prospect) will land one of them, given his strong four-start cameo at the end of last season and the way he has thrown the ball this spring.

So it could actually be four players (Quinn Priester, Cooper Criswell, Sean Newcomb and Michael Fulmer) going for one spot. Priester is having trouble putting hitters away with two strikes. Newcomb, who grew up a Red Sox fan in the Boston area, has had the most solid camp of the four. Criswell proved dependable in a swingman role last year. Fulmer is coming back from Tommy John revision surgery.