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Speaking at Fenway Fest, Red Sox catcher Carlos Narv\u00e1ez said Venezuela needed to have President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro removed from power.Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe<\/p>\nGet Starting Point<\/p>\n
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n
Mayer said: \u201cIt was not fun being in Florida, watching your team in New York play after putting months into it. . . . You\u2019re just pissed when that happens. It\u2019s our dream to play here, and when you play in the organization like this, all you want to do is win and you play the whole season to get to the playoffs. So when you\u2019re not in, it\u2019s gut-punching.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anthony was on an accelerated rehab schedule, pushing for a potential ALCS return. When the Sox\u2019 season ended, the rush disappeared. He wasn\u2019t back to normal physically until about Thanksgiving, he said.<\/p>\n
Mayer said he \u201cpretty much\u201d is having a normal pre-spring training ramp-up. The Red Sox don\u2019t expect any limitations once camp begins. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems like his offseasons the last two or three, he\u2019s always rehabbing or trying to catch up,\u201d manager Alex Cora said of Mayer. \u201cNot this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both figure prominently into the Red Sox\u2019 2026 plans, Anthony as an everyday corner outfielder (and potentially their best hitter) and Mayer as maybe the starter at second or third.<\/p>\n
One change for the best buds: They decided they won\u2019t be roommates this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime to grow up a little bit,\u201d Anthony said. \u201dWe were laughing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bregman\u2019s \u2018court\u2019<\/p>\n
As Alex Bregman\u2019s free agency drags on for a second time in as many offseasons, Cora had a message: \u201cThe ball is in his court.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously we\u2019ve been working together to see what happens, but obviously it\u2019s a different offseason for Alex,\u201d Cora said. \u201cYou guys know how I feel about him. Last year he checked all the boxes that I knew he was going to check, and he checked some boxes that people didn\u2019t know that he was going to check. Just let him work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Red Sox players were consistent in saying they hope Bregman, their leader last year, returns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Breggy,\u201d Anthony said. \u201cI would love for him to be hitting behind me for as long as he can. He knows where I stand with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Team president Sam Kennedy and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow declined to comment on their talks with Bregman. Breslow, noting that the free agent market has moved slowly, said the Red Sox \u201cremain engaged\u201d in trying to add a hitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still out there, which means we have a chance to sign him,\u201d Breslow said.<\/p>\n
Asked about the Red Sox having not signed any free agents yet, Kennedy highlighted the club adding payroll via trades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still in January, and the rules of the road are, there\u2019s no there\u2019s no deadline here to sign free agents,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cIt\u2019s been slow on the free agent side for us. We get that, but we\u2019re continuing to push.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking at Fenway Fest, Red Sox catcher Carlos Narv\u00e1ez said Venezuela needed to have President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro removed from power.Ken McGagh for The Boston Globe<\/p>\n
Narv\u00e1ez on Venezuela<\/p>\n
Carlos Narv\u00e1ez, a Venezuela native, was happy to see his country freed of Nicolas Maduro, the then-president whom the United States arrested in a middle-of-the-night operation this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a country, I know it was needed,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not a secret. It\u2019s been tough years, you know? So I know a lot of people died in that situation, but at the same time, I think the country needed that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Narv\u00e1ez noted that his family and friends back home, including an uncle in the capital city of Caracas, are safe and sound. Although he has returned to Venezuela each of the previous two offseasons to play in the country\u2019s winter league, he is a full-time resident of Miami, having brought his family over about a half-decade ago.<\/p>\n
Narv\u00e1ez wanted to represent Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic in March. But he was denied the insurance required by teams\/MLB because of the left knee surgery he had in October.<\/p>\n
He declared himself fully recovered from that operation and will be \u201cready for the first day of spring training.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m doing everything right now, so if I need to play tomorrow, I can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Casas welcomes Contreras<\/p>\n
Among those supportive of the Red Sox\u2019 acquisition of Willson Contreras: Triston Casas, the former starting first baseman who now is blocked indefinitely.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a better player than me and has been for his entire career,\u201d Casas said. \u201cSo to have an upgrade at a position that has been deficient for the last two years is exactly what the team needed. So hopefully I can come back to [be] the player that I was a couple years ago and know that I can be and contribute to a team in whatever fashion, at whatever position they see fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casas said being ready for Opening Day will be a \u201ctight squeeze,\u201d since that will be just shy of 11 months after his left knee surgery. Doctors have told him recovering from a torn patellar tendon operation requires about 12. He hopes to play in some spring training games.<\/p>\n
Story time<\/p>\n
Trevor Story in recent days hosted another successful Camp Story, the annual winter get-together \u2014 for workouts and camaraderie \u2014 for a bunch of Sox at his Texas home. This year\u2019s crew was Anthony, Mayer, Jarren Duran, Connor Wong, Tristan Gray, and Mikey Romero.<\/p>\n
\u201cGot to see the boys and catch up and talk the ball, do some fun stuff, and I got to show them some Texas culture a little bit,\u201d Story said. \u201cWent to get them some custom cowboy hats, and made them feel real cowboy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Righthanded reliever Mike Timlin (right) will be one of three players inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.Davis, Jim Globe Staff<\/p>\n
Top of the class<\/p>\n
A trio of World Series champions headlined the new class for the Red Sox Hall of Fame<\/a>, unveiled Saturday: Jon Lester (2007 and 2013), Johnny Damon (2004), and Mike Timlin (2004 and 2007).<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little overwhelming,\u201d said Timlin, the only one of the three present Saturday. \u201cI\u2019ve never really considered myself to be that level of a player.\u201d<\/p>\n Also being inducted are Sherm Feller, the public address announcer from 1967-93 and \u2014 in the \u201cMemorable Red Sox Moment\u201d category \u2014 Bill Mueller\u2019s walkoff home run against the Yankees on July 24, 2004, a day best remembered for the Jason Varitek\/Alex Rodriguez fight.<\/p>\n Kristian Campbell heading into his second major league season: \u201cI feel a lot more relaxed and like I know it\u2019s kind of going on around me now. Last year, I was just kind of all over the place, because I didn\u2019t really know what to expect\u201d . . . Ceddanne Rafaela will \u201cprobably not\u201d play second base this year, Cora said . . . Kutter Crawford, who missed last season because of knee and wrist injuries, said he threw off a mound for the first time Friday . . . Cora said he is \u201cnot there yet\u201d on choosing a leadoff hitter but noted that Contreras probably will bat fourth in addition to playing first base \u201cevery day\u201d . . . Kennedy and Breslow endorsed MLB commissioner Rob Manfred\u2019s idea of having some sort of transaction deadline\/freeze during the offseason . . . Assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson will serve as the hitting coach for Great Britain in the WBC . . . Breslow said it was \u201cnever likely,\u201d in his view, that the Red Sox would trade an outfielder this offseason . . . Payton Tolle said he is a big Sam\u2019s Club fan and would be open to an endorsement deal.<\/p>\n Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @timbhealey<\/a>.<\/p>\n