There was some good news for the Red Sox on Monday.
Even though Mookie Betts (hamstring) is out of the lineup for a second straight game, it doesn't appear to be cause for concern.
"Mookie is feeling better," manager Alex Cora said. "He's an option today, if needed. I feel like not starting today is going to benefit him but if we need him late in the game we'll use him.
Added Cora: "He's moving well. He came in, not sure he was able to run outside because of the weather. He was going to take batting practice and all that. We'll stay away from him early in the game if needed. Hopefully we don't need him but if we do we'll go to him."
Betts has appeared in every game so far this season, except for three. He's batting .344/.439/.733.
Another Red Sox player who is progressing towards a return is Dustin Pedroia.
The second baseball told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic he's targeting May 12 to begin rehabbing in Pawtucket and then May 25 as a return to the big league club.
"How many days does May have? 31 days? Put May 32nd," Cora joked. "We'll see. It's a work in progress. Whenever he's ready, he'll be here."
"Like I said, he's in the beginning of the spring training process," he added. "He just played Boston College. Three innings and one at-bat and he'll play whatever. People think it's only the knee, but now that he's moving around and doing all this stuff, it's all the soreness that comes into the equation. I think Jason always said you can workout all you want in the offseason and do everything, but you can't prepare for standing up for three hours in spikes. Now, that is part of his process.
"He's moving around, standing up the whole time, playing in games, hopefully more innings, obviously. There's going to be some soreness and we have to see how he reacts to it. Not only his knee, but obviously his hamstrings and everything. Like I told Pedey, I said, 'Pedey, man, when you get here it's full-go.' We'll have to be patient."
As for Chris Sale and his subpar (by his standards) start to the season, Cora said things are progressing.
"He's not there yet," Cora said. "Extension and rotation with his knee. I sounded smart there huh? He worked hard with Dana breaking down video two days ago. He feels he's getting closer, especially his slider. His slider hasn't been there the whole season. He feels that way. The velocity, he's changing speeds. He goes from 87 to 97 when needed so that's pitching. But I think the slider is the one that's a work in progress and he feels he's getting closer."
Added Cora: "He's one of the best. His changeup, his movement and the way he attacks guys, he can elevate with the fastball in an era that's a go-to pitch now. He has it. And he has the velocity to do that. When he gets a slider, that's a big contrast, go up there and then down and then fade with the changeup. He went to the change up against the Jays. He did an outstanding job. They're making adjustments. Teams will make adjustments. Seems like there are a lot of teams, I don't know if it's a conscious effort that they're preaching that but there are a lot of teams fouling off pitches. We saw it with the Marlins, with the Rays. That's a good approach."
