FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Appearing on the Live BP Baseball Show Saturday Tim Hyers went out of his way to talk about how the Red Sox' camp was one of the most competitive he had been around.
Alex Cora evidently concurs ... and then some.
When asked about the comment, the Red Sox manager took his team's internal optimism to another level when speaking Tuesday morning.
"I don’t like sharing too much about what’s going on but I can tell you I had a conversation with a very important person in my life and I told her there’s a good vibe here," Cora said. "There’s something cool going on here. From the drills and what they’re doing in the cages to the drills that we’re doing it’s been good so far. It’s been good. The energy in the dugout if you look at us in ‘19 ... but you stay positive, but we didn’t play clean baseball in ‘19 in spring training. And it felt like the second part of games was awful to say the least and we’re not doing that now. We’re doing a good job from the first inning all the way to the last out, whatever it is 21 or 27 which is a good sign. Very accountable group. A group that makes mistakes and their baseball talk is loud and clear and I love that so leave it at that. It’s been really good so far."
The Red Sox continue their Grapefruit League play Tuesday in Port Charlotte with a nine-inning game against the Rays. As is the case with all of the Sox' spring training games, it can be heard on the WEEI Red Sox Radio Network.
- The Franchy Cordero watch continues, with the outfielder still not cleared to participate with the rest of the Red Sox due to COVID-19 protocols.
"With Franchy, although he’s in a great ... you gotta see this kid," Cora said. "He’s impressive. But he hasn’t been able to do too much the last week, to be honest with you. So, we gotta be careful. We gotta be careful. Like I said, hopefully we can get the green light today so he can … it’s going to be catch up, but I do believe we still have time for him to get going. If it takes longer, we have to regroup and see what we can do."
Another player who is behind is reliever Ryan Brasier, having to stay home at the beginning of camp due to personal reasons.
"That’s something we’re going to talk about in the upcoming days, but obviously we’re not going to rush him," the manager noted. "We’re not going to rush him."
- The news is more definitive with Xander Bogaerts, who has yet to play in a game due to an ailing right shoulder.
Bogaerts will taking batting practice Wednesday, while amping up his throwing program up to 120 feet.
- The Red Sox announced a flurry of players who have been reassigned to the minor leagues.
"No surprises," Cora said. "Guys that were here for X amount of days, did a good job. Some of them getting used to the organization, others keep improving. It’s a different camp, to say the least. Now they get their time. It’s not that they are going anywhere. They are right here. Get the repetitions and keep getting better. It’s a group where there are some special guys there that we know are going to contribute at some point. I’m not saying this year but they are going to be a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish in the upcoming years. It was good to see them around and learn from them."
- With former Red Sox pitcher Koji Uehara looking on at Jet Blue Park, Hirokazu Sawamura threw to hitters for the first time since joining camp.
