Exhibitions start with NU
Johnson first pitcher up for Farrell
RED SOX NOTEBOOK
FORT MYERS — Something resembling baseball has arrived.
The first Red Sox spring game today, an exhibition with Northeastern University, will feature one of the best depth options the ballclub has on the mound in Brian Johnson.
“More than anything, just throwing the ball over the plate,” Sox manager John Farrell said of what he’s looking for from Johnson. “Given his recent path and journey getting him back in the fold, granted it’s an intersquad exhibition-type game against Northeastern, but still, this is part of him getting back in our environment and getting accomplished the work that’s needed.”
Henry Owens and Roenis Elias will make the next two starts against the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins, respectively.
“Over the next two days we’ll try to get as many people to the field as possible and to the mound as possible,” Farrell said. “There will be a couple guys tomorrow, Johnson will get two innings, then we’ll look to get ( Jamie) Callahan a couple innings as well tomorrow, but then we’re in one-inning stints behind that.”
Johnson stepped away from the game for a time last season while with Triple-A Pawtucket to deal with anxiety issues. He could be a back-end starter.
“A guy that was drafted with three quality pitches, has the potential to spin the breaking ball, the form and elbow issue a couple years ago slowed that progression to a certain extent,” Farrell said. “Average velocity but with an above-average ability to spin a breaking ball.”
Skinny on Sandoval
The first exhibition also brings the first look at the newlook Pablo Sandoval at third base.
“I think with the body composition that currently he’s got, we would expect to see and hopeful to see increase in range, maybe some better foot quickness,” Farrell said. “Better body control. I think those would be a natural progression to what he’s gone through.”
The lineup: Mookie Betts RF; Xander Bogaerts SS; Mitch Moreland 1B; Chris Young LF; Sandoval 3B; Sam Travis DH; Marco Hernandez 2B; Rusney Castillo CF; Christian Vazquez C.
Uehara will be missed
Koji Uehara had an offer to re-sign with the Red Sox before signing a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, Farrell said. The manager also noted that the Sox will miss the reliever.
“And that’s not to say we’re not excited about the guys here, but Koji’s a proven late-inning reliever,” Farrell said. “We made an offer to re-sign him and yet . . . wasn’t, as it turned out, to what he expected, so we ended up in the trade for ( Tyler) Thornburg.”
After the Sox traded corner infielder Travis Shaw to the Milwaukee Brewers for Thornburg at the winter meetings, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski explicitly said the Sox would not pursue Uehara.