Boston Red Sox players reported to spring training on Sunday following an end to the Major League Baseball lockout.
"Today's the day," the Red Sox said in a tweet. "BASEBALL IS BACK!"
Spring training is getting underway a month after its originally scheduled date, and there's some work to do.
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Red Sox manager Alex Cora said most players will get their physicals on Monday and the whole group will be on the field Tuesday.
For Cora, his first order of business is to reconnect with his players after not being able to talk to them for months while labor negotiations took place.
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"I'm more excited about catching up with people, which is the most important thing," he said. "We didn't talk for a while there, and just to ask about their kids, their families, their lives."
Experts say the Red Sox are entering the new season with a solid roster of players, but there is room for improvement, according to NBC Sports Boston Analyst John Tomase.
"At some point you can talk yourself into all of these half-measures, when talent is what wins in this league," Tomase said while urging the Sox to spend money on a big name player in free agency.
Tomase says Boston's core is set, and the big decisions -- how to replace impending free agents Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, and maybe even Chris Sale -- can wait another year.
Fresh off an appearance in the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox have raised expectations in the immediate future even as chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom keeps his eyes focused on long-term sustainability, according to Tomase.
So how does the roster stack up against an improved American League, and what do the Red Sox need to do to return to the postseason? Click here for a position by position breakdown.
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The Red Sox will start the first of their exhibition games this Thursday, and camp will only last three weeks.
But some players got a head start, working out on their own while waiting for spring training to start.
"They did an outstanding job in the offseason. There were some guys that were throwing here in Florida, others in Houston. They're in a good spot," Cora said.
Boston will play the New York Yankees in the Bronx on Opening Day, Thursday, April 7. The first home game for the Sox will be against the Minnesota Twins on Friday, April 15.
Go Sox!
