Relief pitcher Hideki Okajima, fielding a grounder hit back to the mound during fielding practice, is one of 11 Boston pitchers all but assured of a spot on the Opening Day roster.

The Providence Journal Bob Breidenbach

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Job openings are usually at a premium in Red Sox camp, a measure of a successful team with little need to turn over personnel.

That’s no different this year, with perhaps just one roster spot — the seventh man in the bullpen — to be won. But this spring, that competition will be more condensed, thanks to the team’s trip to Japan next month.

In a normal spring, the Red Sox would have until the final days of March to make their evaluations and arrive at the 25-man limit. But because the Red Sox leave Florida on March 19, about 10 days sooner than usual, the process is being sped up.

As it now stands, the Sox can count closer Jonathan Papelbon, set-up lefty Hideki Okajima, set-up righty Manny Delcarmen and veteran middle man Mike Timlin as locks for the pen.

Assuming that Clay Buchholz wins the No. 5 spot in the rotation vacated by Curt Schilling, Julian Tavarez will make the team as a long reliever and spot starter. Kyle Snyder, too, must be considered another roster inclusion.

That leaves a handful of pitchers — Javy Lopez, Dan Kolb, Craig Hansen and David Aardsma — to compete for the final spot. And their auditions are being sped up by the calendar.

“We’ll try to get everybody in games pretty early [so that the process can begin],” said manager Terry Francona yesterday after the team completed its first full-squad workout. “There’s no denying the fact that we leave early. There are going to be guys that [otherwise] might get longer looks [but who] won’t get them.”

Francona is thankful, then, that the vast majority of the roster is set, with as many as 23 players returning from the team’s postseason roster.

“If we had to make a lot of calls on guys,” he said, “you’d be setting yourself up for mistakes with the shorter time period [for evaluation].”

Pitching coach John Farrell said the staff will do its best under less-than-perfect circumstances.

“Spring-training evaluations in general can be difficult,” he said. “We like to balance what players have done in the past with what they’re doing now. This year, we might end up putting more weight on past performance because of the limited time period.”

Farrell has already preached to the pitchers about the danger of overextending themselves early in the spring.

“We’ve told them that their first outing is just that,” he said. “It’s a chance to see some hitters. That’s what we’ve stressed. This is about building arm strength, building a base and commanding the fastball.”

But it’s also about winning a coveted roster spot and it’s complicated by the fact that some of the pitchers involved — including Lopez and Aardsma — are out of options, meaning they can’t be send to Triple A without first being exposed to waivers.

Aardsma, who has major-league experience with Giants, Cubs and White Sox, says the condensed spring “could work as a disadvantage or it could be an advantage.”

He’s buoyed by the fact that the Sox traded for him in January, signifying their interest in him.

“They went out of their way to pick me up,” he said, “so that’s a good thing. It shows they want me. I’ll just have to come out at 100 percent and do my best. That’s all you can do.”

Hansen, who underwent surgery to correct sleep apnea and believes he rediscovered his slider late last spring in Pawtucket, sees the short spring training as a challenge.

“I think it’s better when there’s competition,” he said. “It makes it worthwhile [if you succeed]. This is a great opportunity and I’m going to go after it.”

But time is short and so will chances be to impress. With games set to begin Thursday and lots of pitchers to evaluate, the pitchers in line for the lone bullpen opening may only get five or six chances in games to make their claim.

Aardsma noted that because of the Sox’ early cutdown date, he’ll have a head start on other job-seekers should the Sox release him.

“But I’m not even thinking about that,” he emphasized. “I’m trying to make the team.”

And, he may have added, he doesn’t have a lot of time.

smcadam@projo.com