Connor Wong will lead the Red Sox' catching group again in 2025, but who will serve as his backups? Here's a breakdown of Boston's backstop situation.

Just about every one of the San Francisco Giants' eight Cactus League games this spring have been eventful in some fashion. Logan Webb and Hayden Birdsong are experimenting with tweaks on the mound while LaMonte Wade Jr. is doing so in the box. Justin Verlander is toying with a modified curveball. Robbie Ray unveiled a new changeup that he learned from a Cy Young Award winner while Landen Roupp is throwing a cutter and re-incorporating his four-seam fastball.

Just about every one of the San Francisco Giants' eight Cactus League games this spring have been eventful in some fashion. Logan Webb and Hayden Birdsong are experimenting with tweaks on the mound while LaMonte Wade Jr. is doing so in the box. Justin Verlander is toying with a modified curveball. Robbie Ray unveiled a new changeup that he learned from a Cy Young Award winner while Landen Roupp is throwing a cutter and re-incorporating his four-seam fastball.

With the start of the regular season coming up quickly for the San Francisco Giants, the franchise will be hoping that their offseason moves pay dividends during the year. Due to the massive shift in the front office just prior to the offseason, there was a lot of uncertainty about what the plan would be for the Giants this winter. San Francisco only made two notable signings this season. The addition of Verlander comes after the team lost Blake Snell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and also saw free agent target Corbin Burnes sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Giants knew they were never going to see the best version of Robbie Ray last year. Not after he underwent Tommy John surgery and went 15 months between major-league starts. This spring, by contrast, the Giants can allow themselves to get excited at the prospect of a fully healthy Robbie Ray. “It's not hard at all to get excited,” manager Bob Melvin said with a smile after the Giants beat the Angels, 9-5.

With spring training moving right along for the San Francisco Giants, the team is hoping to see improvements from last year. The Giants have fallen into a bit of a rut in the National League West the past several years. San Francisco has lacked talent and star power in the lineup, but recent moves have strengthened the unit. With the addition of Matt Chapman last offseason and Willy Adames this winter, the Giants have a really talented left side of the infield now.

Tim Hudson spoke a lot about his experiences in his 17-year MLB career at the 26th annual Chico Nuts Spring Fever fundraiser Friday. A former pitcher for three teams in the major leagues, including the Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants, Hudson said if one doesn't have passion and a desire to get better, then what is one doing on the baseball field. Two-time MLB All Star and World Series Champion Tim Hudson, left, signs a baseball for Chloe Scott, right, at the 26th annual Chico Nuts Spring Fever event on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025 at Manzanita Place in Chico, California.

Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Kim Hye-seong busted out of a long slump with his first spring training home run — against a team featuring his former teammate in Korea. Kim launched a solo home run off Mason Black of the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the fifth inning at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, Saturday (local time). The blast tied the score at 2-2, and the Dodgers went on to beat their National League West rivals 6-5.

Los Angeles Dodgers utility man Kim Hye-seong busted out of a long slump with his first spring training home run — against a team featuring his former teammate in Korea. Kim launched a solo home run off Mason Black of the San Francisco Giants in the bottom of the fifth inning at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, Saturday (local time). The blast tied the score at 2-2, and the Dodgers went on to beat their National League West rivals 6-5.

The San Francisco Giants' veteran right-hander is experimenting with a new sweeping curveball, hoping to refine his arsenal and stay ahead of hitters. Verlander debuted the pitch during a three-inning simulated game against minor leaguers at Papago Park in Scottsdale, opting for the controlled environment over making the trip to Glendale, where the Giants were facing the Dodgers. The future Hall of Famer worked closely with pitching coach J.P. Martinez to modify his traditional curveball, giving it more horizontal movement. Verlander decided to tweak his curveball after studying the Giants' Hawkeye tracking system.

The San Francisco Giants look to have one spot in their starting rotation that is up for grabs during spring training. Logan Webb is locked in as the team's ace, a reliable workhorse who takes the ball every time it is his turn. Behind him will be two former Cy Young Award winners; Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander. Jordan Hicks is expected to have a starting role, and he will look to prove he can handle the rigors of being in the rotation despite some injury concerns throughout his career.

Justin Verlander wanted to try something new. Verlander became interested in the Giants' internal Hawkeye tools, which can be used to help pitchers generate more movement with their pitches. With Verlander pitching a simulated game in Scottsdale on Saturday afternoon while the Giants played the Dodgers on the road, Verlander used the low-leverage environment to try a modified curveball, one featuring more sweep. Verlander hadn't worked on this curveball for weeks.

The San Francisco Giants are in the process of trying to piece together a starting rotation that can lift the club to success behind their established ace Logan Webb. With the departure of Blake Snell, the Giants no longer have an elite arm to pair with Webb, so the team faces an uphill battle to match the overall production that last year's group of starters produced. New president of baseball operations Buster Posey made a splash this offseason when he added Justin Verlander in free agency to hold down one of the spots, and another veteran in Robbie Ray figures to be a key part of the team's plans. Things get more complicated behind those three, with converted reliever Jordan Hicks and youngster Kyle Harrison currently penciled into the four and five spots in the rotation.

Tyler Fitzgerald used three types of gloves last season. “We saw last year, when he got an opportunity to play in one spot, he did his best work,” said manager Bob Melvin. A year ago, Fitzgerald had 10 lone major-league games to his name, having yet to prove anything of substance at the big league level. Over the summer, he made history that landed his name next to Barry Bonds.

His name won't come up in the batting order, and he'll likely never record a stat for the San Francisco Giants, but still, you may have seen him on the field.

The San Francisco Giants are about to have a conundrum on their hands which many teams would envy. With several locks in the starting rotation, the back end of the staff is an open competition as spring training rages on, and it may not be long before the Giants are forced into what will be a tough decision. Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Justin Verlander form a defined top-three before Jordan Hicks almost certainly works his way into the No. 4 spot given the fact he is owed $12.5 million in each of the next three seasons after signing a four-year deal with San Francisco last winter. Where things get interesting is the No. 5 slot.

Third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Willy Adames have only played a handful of Cactus League innings with one another, but Friday afternoon's exhibition against the Milwaukee Brewers provided a glimpse of their collective value. With no outs and the Brewers' Brewer Hicklen on second base in the top of the fourth inning, Milwaukee's Jimmy Herron hit a routine grounder right at Adames.

The San Francisco Giants are making some updates to a beloved attraction at Oracle Park.

As a whole, the San Francisco Giants bullpen was disappointing. ESPN's Buster Olney recently released a ranking of the relief pitchers in MLB. While there were no Giants named in the top 10, emerging star Ryan Walker was listed as an "honorable mention." Walker has had a long road to getting to the active MLB roster, but it looks to have paid off as he is finally establishing himself with consistent solid play.

Willy Adames played against his former team for the first time on Friday, but afterward shared he was devastated by the passing of Bob Uecker.