PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — A heckler chanted “overrated” with Roman Anthony at the plate in the fifth inning Thursday night during a Spring Breakout game between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park.

Anthony, the No. 2 prospect on Baseball America’s Top 100 list, promptly launched a missile over the right-field wall.

Anthony’s homer left his bat at 110 mph.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard that this spring,” Anthony said. “So it’s always funny. But it’s part of it.”

He considers it a compliment.

“I think so. I think if they’re saying something, it’s always a good thing if you’re relevant,” Anthony said.

Kristian Campbell was on deck and heard the heckler.

“That was sick,” Campbell said about Anthony going deep.

Campbell said that’s “definitely not the first time” a heckler has done that to Anthony.

“It’s happened a couple times in Triple-A,” Campbell added.

The heckler also had chanted “overrated” at Anthony earlier in the game.

How did this one feel compared to the 116 mph homer Anthony blasted for Double-A Portland last July 31? That one was the hardest hit ball in the organization in 2024.

“It wasn’t quite as hard,” Anthony said. “We had the (Statcast data) in there. I just lost 10 pounds, though, so who knows? Who knows what would have happened?”

Anthony was sick with the same illness that has struck several Red Sox players during spring training.

Asked if he’s impressed he can hit a ball that hard after losing 10 pounds, Anthony replied, “Um. Not really. No. But if I had the 10 pounds, maybe it would have been harder than the one I hit last year.”

Each of the Big Three prospects homered. Campbell and Marcelo Mayer bashed back-to-back home runs in the third inning to put the Red Sox ahead 3-0. Tampa Bay’s prospects rallied for a 7-5 win.

Campbell went opposite field to right-center.

“Most of my power is gap to gap, middle part of the field,” Campbell said. “I just try to hit the ball hard and in the air, and good things happen.”

Anthony added, “I’ve seen that.”

RAFAEL DEVERS flexed his muscles in the batter’s box Thursday at JetBlue Park, powering a towering three-run homer to center off Walker Buehler in a simulated game.

An hour later, a decidedly less aggressive Devers addressed his near future with the team and offered a far more conciliatory stance insofar as the team’s plans for him in 2025.

At the start of camp, Devers repeatedly and insistently said he didn’t want to move off third base to make room for newcomer Alex Bregman, whom the Red Sox signed in mid-February.

But he appears to be softening his stance, even as he strongly hinted that a move to DH would be far from his first choice.

“I just want to help the team win,” he said. “Whatever position I’m playing, I always take these things as a competition and as a way to get better.

“I’m good to do whatever they want me to do. I’m here to help … I’m just ready to play.”

Asked directly how he would feel if Bregman played third on Opening Day in two weeks with Devers relegated to DH, he responded: “Good. At the end of the day, it’s not my decision. I don’t call the shots around here. I’ll go out there and do what I need to do.”

Devers has not played in a Grapefruit League game this spring, requesting more time to get his swing in order and to find his timing. Twice in the last week, the Red Sox said he would be in the lineup, but both times that changed.

Devers is currently scheduled to be in the lineup Saturday when the Red Sox host the Minnesota Twins. Asked if that was still the case, Devers answered in the affirmative, before playfully adding: “That’s the plan. We’ll see how I feel (Friday).”

But while less combative in tone, Devers left little doubt that he’s still unhappy with the club’s decision to move him away from third.

“I’ve already spoken with (the team) and they know where I stand,” he said. “I’m not going to share what we talked about here, just because … those are private conversations. I told them everything from my point of view and how I see things. They know that.

“I spoke with them clearly about what it is that I want.”

Asked if he could share that, he said: “No, I can’t talk about it right now. The GM and the manager know where I stand…I’m not going to share what we talked about.”

NOT LONG AGO, the chances for Wilyer Abreu being on Boston’s Opening Day roster seemed remote.

Abreu arrived in spring training and was soon diagnosed with a gastrointestinal virus, severely limiting his activity. It didn’t help that he lost weight and strength during his idle period.

Meanwhile, the team waited for a battery of tests to return and indicate that it was safe for Abreu to fully engage in baseball activities.

But in short order, Abreu has apparently managed to make up for lost time. Manager Alex Cora said Friday that Abreu, who was set to take part in a minor league game in Fort Myers, would be in the lineup Saturday for his Grapefruit League debut against the Atlanta Braves.

“(Facing) Chris Sale,” cracked Cora. “You wanna play? There you go. Physically, everybody feels he’s in a good spot. Now, it’s just (a matter) of the at-bats. He can catch up. We know that. We’ll see where it takes us, but I’m confident that, physically, he’s in a good spot.

“Honestly, he didn’t lose too much. It looked that way, but he feels stronger. The numbers back that up. So now, it’s just the reps, at-bat wise. Defensively, he’s been (working) on that the whole week.”

Reminded that just last week he effectively ruled Abreu out of the running to be part of the Opening Day roster, Cora was asked if his perspective and timeline had changed.

“Yes,” he said. “I was a little bit worried that the numbers (from the testing) weren’t going to get there sooner rather than later. But this is great news, and now we go.”