The Boston Red Sox officially made their return to action on Friday afternoon, as they opened their Spring Training action by pummeling the Northeastern Huskies 18-3. The Sox's roster looks much different than it did to finish the 2025 campaign, but this early result proved this team can still be incredibly effective, even if it was an exhibition match against a collegiate team.
One guy who is returning to the team this season is outfielder Wilyer Abreu, who enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2025. Still, Abreu wanted to make some changes ahead of the upcoming season, but not all of them will be seen on the field. Instead, perhaps the most notable change Abreu made will see him speak to reporters in English throughout the 2026 season without the aid of a translator.
“When you connect with all the fans and you can express yourself with them, I think they appreciate it a lot,” Abreu said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “It means a lot because I can communicate myself better, I can talk with more freedom with everybody.”
Abreu hails from Venezuela, with Spanish being his first language. As many players in the majors do, though, Abreu has been working hard to improve his English over the past few years, and he's gotten comfortable enough with his command of the language that he feels he can speak to reporters on his own moving forward.
This is undoubtedly a big accomplishment for Abreu, and the hope is that it's only the first in a long list of notable achievements for him and his team this season. Boston will be back in action on Saturday, as it will square off against the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m. ET.
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