FORT MYERS, Fla. — Craig Hansen reached into his locker early this spring and pulled out a pill.

“Fish oil,” explained Hansen with a wry smile. “It’s supposed to help your memory.”

Manny Delcarmen, meanwhile, possesses another young bullpen arm not likely to be forgotten by the Red Sox as they construct their pitching staff of the future, looking for an influx of kids to climb out of the organization’s minor-league system and make it to Boston to stay.

Hansen, 23, and Delcarmen, 25, each of whom had some ups and downs in the big leagues last season — and mostly downs in spring training this year with the Red Sox — will begin this season in Pawtucket. But the Sox still think they have potentially bright major-league futures in Boston.

“I really hope so,” manager Terry Francona said when asked if he thought Hansen and Delcarmen would have a chance to make an impact in the Red Sox’ bullpen this season.

The Red Sox’ decision to move Jonathan Papelbon back to the bullpen might not have been made if Hansen, the Sox’ first-round draft pick (26th overall) in 2005 after a sparkling career at St. John’s, had been ready to take over as closer this spring.

But Hansen’s stuff has been inconsistent. The 96-mph fastball he was blazing toward home plate when he left college and began his career in the Sox’ organization mystifyingly disappeared last year. And, after some early success, Hansen’s confidence seemed to swoon when he began to get tagged in the second half of last season.

“It was definitely a learning process,” said Hansen, who went 2-2 with a 6.63 earned-run average in 38 games for Boston.

Hansen blew his two save opportunities, and he surrendered five homers, including a pair to the Yankees on Aug. 20 that prompted the Sox to ship him back to the minors for his second stint with Pawtucket.

“[We] rushed him. We had no choice,” said Francona, citing the injuries that plagued the big-league staff, forcing what, in retrospect, seemed to be the premature promotion of Hansen.

Hansen, who pitched earlier in a game than he was used to as the Sox tried to get his feet wet, watched video of his big-league action, and he saw for himself what the coaching staff had been telling him.

He was inconsistent with his delivery, leading to unhittable fastballs or breaking balls all too often followed by a fat pitch served up on a tee for the salivating batter.

That inconsistency continued this spring, culminating in a horrific outing against the Reds earlier this week (two-thirds of an inning, two hits, two walks, two hit-batsmen, five runs) that cemented the decision — made earlier in camp — to send him back to the PawSox. At Pawtucket, he won’t be the closer, as the Sox want him to prepare for the setup or middle-relief role they hope he’ll eventually fill in Boston.

But Hansen, whose spring work was thrown off by an early back injury, says he has been closing since playing for the Bayside Yankees in a summer league when he was in high school. And after a brief and unsuccessful stint as a starter at St. John’s, he has been closing since and has come to love the role, he says.

“The pressure. Everyone relies on that one inning. That’s the game right there,” said Hansen of what he particularly enjoys about the role. “Everyone’s paying attention. Everyone’s trying hard. The batter’s trying to get the best of you. You’re trying to get the best of the batter. There is so much intensity in that situation. Failure (as a closer) is tough. I never reacted too well to it. I absolutely hate failing, but I’ve been able to get over it pretty quick.”

Delcarmen is a different case. Unlike Hansen, who only could have made the team had he dominated the opposition in exhibition games, Delcarmen could have stayed with the Sox. But he pitched his way to the minors after struggling (6.75 ERA) in his seven appearances.

The right-hander, who was born in Boston and starred at West Roxbury High, has been used as a setup man mainly in his tours of duty for Boston, in 2005 and 2006. Last year, Delcarmen went 2-0 with a 5.06 ERA in 50 games after spending some time early in the year in Pawtucket. He had no saves, and was tagged with four blown saves.

The key for any pitcher is to throw his first pitch for a strike, and Delcarmen had trouble with that at times last year. That has been a focus of Delcarmen’s this spring, as well as the addition of a changeup to go along with his fastball and curveball.

“I’m still young. I still have a lot to learn. I’m still working on my mechanics to stay consistent. I’m getting better at it,” said Delcarmen.

“And (veteran reliever) Mike Timlin has helped me out a lot in the bullpen, telling me to build a routine on and off the field and to stick with it. He was telling me to visualize every pitch. He was saying, ‘See it, do it.’ At the beginning, I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ But now I understand, seeing the pitch to the plate even before you make it,” said Delcarmen.

Consistent innings in Boston, though, may have to wait a while for both Hansen and Delcarmen.

“[They] need to pitch,” said Francona. “But they both have the ability to pitch up here. Now when, that’s going to be interesting.”

skrasner@projo.com