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Red Sox bats stay hot with spring winding down

By CJ HADDAD - | Mar 23, 2021

CJ HADDAD The Red Sox line the field prior to the start of one of their Spring Training games.

As the Spring Training schedule progresses while each beautiful Florida afternoon goes by, it’s crunch time for players to fine-tune their skills and for youngsters to make that impression to potentially earn a roster spot.  

Opening Day is merely a week away, leaving managers and coaching staffs around baseball analyzing their rosters with a fine-tooth comb in order to optimize their performance over the next 162 games.  

For the Boston Red Sox and skipper Alex Cora, finding the right trio of bench players and who will fill out his somewhat unconventional nine-man bullpen is the pressing matter at hand down the stretch.  

Vying for bench positions (to accompany backup catcher Kevin Plawecki) are utility man Michael Chavis, infielder Christian Arroyo and outfielder Franchy Cordero, who was acquired from Kansas City in a trade featuring Andrew Benintendi this offseason and missed time due to being placed on the COVID-19 injured list.  

In Friday’s 11-7 win over Tampa Bay, Chavis continued his hot spring and went 2-for-2 with a homer.  

“It’s fun to watch and that’s what it’s all about,” Cora said of seeing his young players battle for a roster spot. “We’re moving them around in the infield. They’re getting their at-bats. And that’s the beauty of having a solid and complete team – you have to make tough decisions. It’s about what fits right now and what fits for the future. We’re very happy with the way they have competed.” 

Reliever Garrett Whitlock also continued his dazzling camp, tossing three innings of scoreless relief, striking out five and allowing just one hit along the way. Whitlock, a 6-foot-5, 24-year-old carries a 1.00 ERA this spring over nine innings of work, having struck out 12 and not issuing a walk.  

“What Garrett did today, that was impressive. But he’s been doing that the whole spring,” Cora said. “He’s got a good fastball he’s able to elevate late in counts and it was a great day for him.” 

Cora praised Whitlock’s attention to detail and the success he’s found this spring as a Rule 5 (2020 from NYY) draft pick who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and has yet to appear in a professional game above Double-A level.  

“One thing about him, he’ll show up tomorrow and ask, ‘What can I do better?’ And he’s done that the whole camp,” Cora said. “We’re very happy for him with the way he’s performed and we’re very proud and we have a good one.” 

Outfielder Hunter Renfroe also went deep for Boston in the third inning, a two-out blast off of Louis Head.  

Sox rebound Monday after tough weekend 

Sox starting pitchers were touched up on Saturday and Sunday in losing performances. Lefty Martin Pérez was erratic over five innings, allowing five runs on six hits, striking out three and walking five as part of Saturday’s 8-2 loss to Atlanta.

Cordero made his Spring Training debut in the designated hitter slot and went 1-for-2 from the seven-hole that included a line drive single to left in the second inning.  

On Sunday, Nick Pivetta surrendered six earned runs on six hits over four innings, striking out three and walking three as part of a loss to Pittsburgh.

The Red Sox got back to their winning ways on Monday with a 10-4 win over Tampa and the youngsters put on a show.  

Chavis, Arroyo, and Spring Training darling Bobby Dalbec all went deep in the winning effort with Eduardo Rodriguez improving to 3-0 across two innings of work (1 ER).  

Dalbec and Chavis both are tied for the MLB spring lead with six homers, and Monday’s blast was Arroyo’s third of camp. Chavis is hitting an impressive .302 this spring with 12 RBI in 43 at-bats. Arroyo is hitting .300 over 40 at-bats with eight RBI and six runs scored.  

Cordero also made his first appearance in the field for the Red Sox in left and reached base twice hitting in the No. 3 spot in the order.  

“(Cordero is a) smart individual talking with him about defense and bases running is pretty good. Now we just have to see how he feels tomorrow,” Cora said. “Good at-bats. He ran the bases well, so that was a positive for him.” 

Reliever Hirokazu Sawamura pitched an inning of scoreless relief on Monday, walking one, striking out one and surrendering one hit.  

The former Japan star turned Major Leaguer said he’s still getting acclimated to his new environment and is continuing to work on improving the communication barrier, which was evident during Monday’s outing when his translator came to the mound during a visit.  

“The differences in the mound, the baseball, those are the things I have to get used to,” Sawamura said. “I think the most important thing for me to get used to is the communication – just talking to my teammates and coaches a lot more. Asking more questions, I think will help me moving forward.” 

Cora was also encouraged with Sawamura’s development in what was his third appearance. 

“We’re making progress,” Cora said. “It was a positive today.”  

— Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj