Lights, cameras, action. The Red Sox will hold their first workouts of the 2024 season this week, and Netflix will be on hand capturing every moment as it documents Boston’s entire season.

The network and team announced plans for the documentary last week, to the surprise of many fans. The Red Sox have had an underwhelming offseason and are picked by most experts to be well out of the playoffs.

This will not be like Hard Knocks, the NFL-backed documentary that airs on HBO. The Red Sox will have no say in the production of the show, with producers given free reign to tell the story as they see fit.

The story of the 2024 season, blemishes and all, won’t air until 2025. So while we in New England will keep an eye on how the coming summer progresses, the rest of the world won’t learn the inside scoop on this team for a year.

With that in mind, here are a few candidates to be breakout stars when the show finally airs:

• Alex Cora. The Sox manager is engaging, has television experience from his time with ESPN, and will be tasked with getting the most out of a questionable pitching staff. He’s also in the final year of his contract with Boston. He won a championship here as a player and another as a manager, and knows how to tell a story. If this team is the least bit successful this season it will be because Cora has done an exceptional job of managing.

• Nick Pivetta. Like his manager, Pivetta is also entering the final year of his deal with the Red Sox. He was taken out of the rotation last year before returning with a vengeance in September, when he posted a 1.74 ERA in his final four starts. Pivetta has had an up-and-down career and wears his emotion on his sleeve. He has a chance to cash in big with a good 2024, and the cameras will be rolling.

• Brennan Bernardino. He might not be a star, but he’s become an effective relief pitcher for this team. And he has a great story. He has pitched around the world – from Canada to Mexico to Venezuela – in the hopes of keeping his major league dreams alive. He was a Lyft driver on the side. Finally, in 2022, he made his big-league debut at the age of 30. He has a teenage son who loves to play “MLB The Show” with his dad pitching. It’s the kind of story that documentary producers eat up.

• Jason Varitek. A beloved icon of New England, Varitek will be one of many players honored throughout the season as the curse-busting 2004 team celebrates its 20th anniversary (Netflix is also producing a documentary on that team). He’s a manager-in-waiting and is a thoughtful, well-spoken interview. If this team struggles there will be rumors about Cora’s future in Boston, and of Varitek’s ascension to the throne.

• Jarren Duran. A dynamic outfielder, Duran is one of the fastest players in baseball. He has also been outspoken about his battles with mental health. His story has been inspirational to many facing the same challenges, and he will get to share that story on the biggest stage.

• Masataka Yoshida. It can’t be easy to be the lone Japanese-speaking player on a team. Yoshida was a superstar in his home country, and had success in his first year with Boston before the schedule and travel caught up with him. The team expects him to bounce back with a strong second year, a compelling storyline for us to watch in person – and on Netflix.

• Theo Epstein. It’s hard to imagine him seeking out the limelight so you probably won’t see a ton of him this year. But it’s equally hard to imagine the producers not wanting to get his story as he joins the ownership group in an effort to guide the team back to better results on the field, and a better relationship with the fans. He might be in the background, but that could be an ongoing story in the documentary.

Of course, a trade or an injury could change this list. As pitchers and catchers report to duty on Wednesday, all we can do is sit back and watch see how things unfold. On the field this year, and on our streaming devices in 2025.

Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.

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