NEW YORK - No matter what Saturday brings, Friday presented a very unwelcome wake-up call for the Red Sox.
Sure, Alex Cora's crew dropped its season-opener, 6-5, in 11 innings to the Yankees. But the true reality check that Opening Day supplied came in one swing of the bat and step out of the batter's box.
Xander Bogaerts had hurt his right hamstring.
What the heck happened to X? pic.twitter.com/xt9pEJfP2i
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) April 8, 2022
"Hopefully I come back [Saturday], I feel good and [I'll be] ready to go," said Bogaerts. He added, "I don't know if it's because I didn't do much running during the games in Spring Training, I was getting only outs. I got on base today a couple of times and I ran pretty hard right out of the gate, first to third. I should have hit a homer like Rafael Devers. First to third right away. Then I doubled down the line. I don't know, hopefully tomorrow it's good."
Suddenly, the conversation surrounding Bogaerts - who notched three hits in his season debut - had less to do about life beyond 2022 and more to do with the here and now.
If Bogaerts becomes unavailable for any stretch, it is a dagger to these Red Sox.
The easy answer for backfilling Bogaerts' spot would be to move Trevor Story back over to shortstop, sliding in Christian Arroyo at second base. But that basically either eliminates the right-field platoon with Jackie Bradley Jr. or slides J.D. Martinez into the field more than anyone would have liked.
The plan was also to keep Story at second base even on Bogaerts' off days, letting the newcomer acclimate himself to his new position.
Arroyo could also keep Story at second by playing shortstop, a position he is more than capable of handling. But, again, that would put a dent in the whole outfield plan.
The short-term Friday was putting Jonathan Arauz at shortstop for the 11th inning. For a game? Sure. But if we're talking about giving Bogaerts' hamstring some legitimate time to heal, the aforementioned options would likely be more realistic.
Perhaps the Red Sox give Jeter Downs his big chance, even after a disappointing 2021 season and uneasy spring training. (He did hit a home run Friday.)
None of the solutions makes up for the loss of Bogaerts' bat, which is the primary reason we can even talk about him getting the kind of contract being given out to the best shortstops in the game.
The Red Sox were 81-62 in games Bogaerts started in 2021, and 62-38 when he came away with at least one hit. The lineup just looks different with him in it, as Friday reminded us.
So, don't start running for shelter quite yet. Just understand storm clouds could be potentially gathering.
"I’m always nervous when people come out of the game," said Cora after the game when asked if he was concerned about Bogaerts.
Especially when it is this person.
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