Bogaerts shut down with sore shoulder

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