Spring Training has an official start date of Thursday, when pitchers and catchers are all due in camp. In truth, most of them have already been at JetBlue Park for at least a week.
Much like the fans, the players can't wait to get started. Righty setup man Carson Smith and veteran outfielder Chris Young are the other key additions.
And there is much excitement about the young core of players who performed so well at the end of 2015. Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Eduardo Rodriguez and catcher Blake Swihart hope to be cornerstones for a return to the postseason.