Getty The Red Sox won the World Series in 2018.
In 2019, Boston Red Sox spring training games will be televised on either NESN (for those who live in the local Red Sox markets), Fox 25 WFXT (local markets), MLB Network (some live, some delayed) or ESPN.
Fortunately, if you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream of those channels on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services. Additionally, these services will also be good for watching Sox games once the regular season starts in late March.
PlayStation Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: All four include Fox 25 WFXT (if you live in a local market) and ESPN, while the upper three bundles include NESN (local markets) and MLB Network.
You can start a free 5-day trial right here (select “Start Streaming” in the upper-right corner), and you can then watch a live stream of Red Sox spring training games on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch games live, PlayStation Vue comes included with cloud DVR.
NESN (local markets) and Fox 25 WFXT (local markets) are two of 75 channels included in FuboTV’s main package, which is largely tailored towards sports fans. ESPN and MLB Network aren’t included, but with most of the Red Sox spring games being televised on NESN, this is still a viable option for those in local markets.
You can start a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Red Sox spring training games on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a handy “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which will allow you to watch games on-demand up to three days after they air even if you don’t record them.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including both Fox 25 WFXT (local markets) and ESPN. However, NESN and MLB Network are not available on Hulu.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Red Sox spring training games on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Red Sox 2019 Spring Training Preview
Catcher is perhaps the least settled position on the Red Sox roster as the team enters spring training.
They carried three catchers for most of the 2018 season — Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon, and Blake Swihart — though the 26-year-old Swihart saw time all over the diamond.
Boston’s president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski indicated in the offseason that he’s looking to deal one of the backstops.
“I think philosophically, yes, that’s what we are planning on doing: to have two catchers rather than three,” Dombrowski said on February 13, according to MassLive. “As you know, that’s always a position where we’re a foul tip away from changing what your outlook is. But realistically I think Opening Day we would have two catchers. But we haven’t made any deals as you can see. I think the catching market overall for trades has been slow.”
Dombrowski noted that JT Realmuto’s extended time on the trading block — the Miami Marlins traded the All-Star catcher to the Phillies earlier this month — affected his attempts to deal one of his team’s catchers.
“The Realmuto deal — we’re not dealing the same level of player — but it affects other clubs, other organizations,” Dombrowski said, per MassLive. “There’s even a couple free agent catchers still out there at this time. So we don’t want to just give our guys away by any means. We think they’re all big league catchers. All legitimate big league catchers. So we’ll just play it out and see what happens.”
The Red Sox also have catchers Juan Centeno, Oscar Hernandez, and Austin Rei in their major league camp. The team signed Centeno to a minor league deal, and the other two are non-roster invitees.
“We’re good,” manager Alex Cora said, according to MassLive. “I had Juan (Centeno) in Houston in 2017. He was part of the playoff roster. So I’m comfortable (with our depth at catcher).”
According to The Boston Globe, Vazquez is the least likely backstop to be moved ahead of the season. The rocket-armed catcher struggled at the plate in last year’s regular season, hitting .207/.257/.283. But he got the bulk of the playing time in the playoffs as the team claimed the World Series title.
Assistant hitting coach Andy Barkett told the Globe that Vazquez has improved his swing in offseason.
“I think right now, he’s in a way better spot than he was at the end of the season mechanically,” Barkett said. “In the offseason, everyone is relaxed. You can kind of retrain your brain and your body to move certain ways. I think you need some time away to kind of help.
“[In 2018] he was just searching for the perfect leg kick, the perfect movement, whatever it was. I think he’s found it now. He’s in a really good spot.”
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