Cron ready to provide righthanded boost
FORT MYERS, Fla. — C.J. Cron waited patiently for an opportunity to continue his career. When the Red Sox called, it was an easy decision.
“To get a chance to play for this team, I think it’s pretty special,” Cron said Sunday after officially being added to the spring training roster.
“It’s a good situation for me if I can make this team. That’s my main goal right now: to go out there and compete and do whatever I can to make it.”
The Sox need a righthanded-hitting backup first baseman who could be the designated hitter on occasion, too.
Cron, 34, is now competing with Bobby Dalbec for that spot.
Dalbec has a minor league option remaining, which will influence the decision. But Cron also has to show something at the plate. He agreed to a minor league contract that would pay $2 million if he is added to the roster with $500,000 in incentives.
Cron’s production fell off sharply last season because of a back strain and he finished with a .729 OPS over 71 games. He had an .821 OPS the previous five seasons and averaged 139 games discounting the shortened 2020 campaign.
Cron arrived ready to go, having stayed busy hitting off a pitching machine and working in the weight room.
“I didn’t really have any expectations,” he said. “I was just doing my offseason work and whatever came up, came up. Fortunately I was able to get an offer from Boston.”
The tentative plan is for Cron to play in his first game March 11. With the season starting March 28, he has time to make the team.
“That’s why he’s here,” Sox manager Alex Cora said.
Crawford cruises
Kutter Crawford worked three scoreless innings in Sunday’s 3-1 victory against the Blue Jays. He allowed two singles and struck out four without a walk. He threw 29 of 38 pitches for strikes.
The righthander hit 97 miles per hour with his fastball and retired five of the last six batters he faced. He also had command of a sweeper and mixed in a slow curveball.
Crawford weighs 205 pounds, 10 more than last season. That was his plan and it has been a positive on the mound.
“I’m a little bit heavier and it’s more good weight,” he said. “I feel stronger. And I still feel like I’m moving as good, if not better, than last year.”
Crawford threw a career-best 143„ innings as a minor leaguer in 2018 and was at his heaviest at the time.
In Cora’s eyes, the key for Crawford is to regularly throw 95-100 pitches and work deeper into games.
“I do believe stuff-wise, he’s really good,” Cora said. “Now it’s maintaining his stuff. He didn’t do it last year. But we do believe now, with the work he put in the gym, he should be OK.”
Whitlock takes title
Pitching coach Andrew Bailey made a game out of the usual fielding practice pitchers do as part of spring training.
Players earned points for accuracy over the course of camp with Cooper Criswell, Chase Shugart, and Garrett Whitlock advancing to the final round Sunday.
With the entire team watching and cheering along, Whitlock won the championship.
It came down to Criswell against Whitlock, with the target being a dunk tank next to first base. Whitlock nailed the trigger, sending pitching adviser Goose Gregson plunging into the murky water.
“My proudest accomplishment,” Whitlock joked.
The point of the contest was to add some energy to what is otherwise routine work.
“We’re in a good spot,” Cora said. “It’s been refreshing, the things that we’re doing and the energy we’re doing it with. I thought it was great, having everybody out there.”
The Sox are planning a team-building event March 22 at Top Golf.
Dinner guest
Cora had dinner with Theo Epstein last week. “We talked about [Liverpool]. Not too much about the Red
Sox,” the manager said. “It wasn’t like this is the dinner to talk about [the Sox]. It was catching up and talking about the whole thing. It was fun.” Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy and Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan also attended the dinner. Epstein became a partner and senior adviser with Fenway Sports Group last month . . . Chris Martin, the team’s most valuable reliever last season, has yet to appear in a game. The 37-yearold is being brought along slowly to make sure his shoulder is strong. He expects to be ready for the season . . . Daisuke Matsuzaka, who now works for TV Asahi in Japan, was at Fenway South helping with the coverage of Masataka Yoshida . . . Former Red Sox coaches Carlos Febles and DeMarlo Hale were back at the ballpark, now as coaches with the Blue Jays. Febles is the third base coach and Hale the associate manager . . . The Sox had their annual meeting with MLB’s security staff before the game . . . Nationals outfielder Daylen Lile, who was injured Saturday when he tumbled over the bullpen wall at JetBlue Park, came away with a deep bruise on his lower back. Other tests were negative.