Sox’ Bogaerts shut down with shoulder soreness
Bloom: MRI reveals ‘nothing concerning’
Xander Bogaerts won’t be making his spring training debut with the rest of the Red Sox regulars this week.
Bogaerts has a sore shoulder, a product of being too aggressive ramping up his arm with the team’s throwing program, according to manager Alex Cora. The franchise shortstop has been resting for a few days and had an MRI, according to chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.
The MRI revealed “nothing concerning, no,” Bloom said. “All what you would expect. He should be ready (for Opening Day). Obviously we won’t skip steps with him … it is a marathon not a sprint … but we
should have the time we need.”
Cora said Bogaerts was able to hit regularly in Aruba this winter, but “his throwing program wasn’t perfect” and was limited because of Aruba’s coronavirus restrictions.
“So he rushed himself,” Cora said. “He was sore for a few days. We shut him down. He should be back to throwing in the next couple of days. He will take groundballs and all that. The hitting part, he’ll be OK in a few days, too. We’ve just got to be patient. We’ve got plenty of days.
We’ve got, what, 30 more days? So as of now, we do feel he should be ready for Opening Day.”
Bogaerts, 28, has been on the injured list just once in his eight-year career, when he fractured his ankle in 2018. He’s otherwise been a model of health and a durable everyday shortstop who has played all but 11 games the last two seasons.
Shortstop depth
While he recovers, the Sox
have used KIKÉ HErnandez, Jeter Downs and Christian Arroyo at shortstop.
Downs, one of the organization’s top prospects who was acquired in the second version of the Mookie Betts trade last February, is considered to be more of a second baseman. He homered in his first spring training at-bat on Sunday. Cora said he and Jason Varitek were joking that Downs and catcher Connor WonG, also acquired in the Betts trade, were making Bloom look good on Sunday.
“They’re making him look smarter than a year ago,” Cora said. “Slowing down the game seems like it’s natural for (Downs). It’s a slow pace, slow heartbeat. He crushed that ball to right field. He did. Then the at-bat, the next one, it was a good swing up the middle. Two days ago, we were having that simulated game with Eduardo (RodriGuez) on the mound. For how cool and smooth as he is, someone hit a rocket, I think it was Marwin (Gonzalez), to his right, and right away, he dove for it.
“So, it’s there. He gets it. He worked out a lot this offseason with
Jon Jay. Jon is one of my favorite players, not only in the big leagues but from the program that we played for. The mental side of it, how you prepare, how you go about your business, that was something that he kept preaching to Jeter. He’s really good. He’s part of the future. We’re going to play him a lot, just like Jarren Duran. We want them to go out there, get their feet wet, and see how the big league game is. It’s a different pace, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be too fast for him. That’s cool to see.”
Competition on the bench
Arroyo played a lot of second base for the Red Sox late in the season in 2020 and will get a chance to push for a big league roster spot this spring, especially given he’s out of minor league options. Arroyo, 26, is a former first-round pick who was claimed off waivers from the Indians and hit .240 with a .736 OPS in 14 games with the Sox.
“He made some strides offensively,” Cora said. “That’s what everybody feels last year. He’s a good defender at second base. I watched a lot. He’s able to turn the double play. But versatility is going to be a factor and he knows it.
“We do believe he can handle short. He can make all the routine plays and let’s see how much the of
fense is going to be a part of his game. But yesterday he had two good at-bats, drove one to center field. Physically he’s a lot better than where he was last year. A better athlete than what I thought watching him on TV.”
Arroyo is likely competing with Michael Chavis and Jonathan Arauz for the final roster spot. Chavis homered on Sunday. The 25-yearold Chavis is also a former firstrounder who hit .212 with a .636 OPS in a tough year at the plate last season.
“We know what he can do, we know the type of hitter he is, he just needs to close down some holes from his swing,” Cora said. “Like I’ve been saying all along, strikeouts are just an out in certain situations, but the other situations, we need to make contact. That’s one part of the game he needs to get better at and he knows it.
“Defensively, he played third yesterday, he’s playing first today, we’ll put him at second. We’ll keep trying the left field thing. It’s a big spring for him too and he knows it. He knows the personnel that we have, the guys that we added and the versatility. But he can do those things too. When he punishes the ball, it goes a long way. But he needs to become a better hitter and he works hard.”