While some of the Red Sox' future stars are already toiling in the desert sun, a handful of others are about to begin play in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Winter League starts Friday and nine members of the Red Sox' organization will be in action, including a handful of top prospects.
Outfielder Josh Reddick and infielders Yamaico Navarro and Oscar Tejeda are among the highly regarded position players expected to be in action.
Reddick sees the assignment as a chance to continue his search for consistency after a wildly up and down season, both literally and figuratively (he was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket four times in 2010).
"Hopefully I'll be playing every day," Reddick said. "I'll be trying to get a little more understanding of the strike zone and staying in the zone, which I've improved on so much this year."
Reddick hit .194 with a home run in 29 games for Boston. He was a .266 hitter with 18 homers and 65 RBIs at Pawtucket, but that was up from just .207 before the All-Star break.
Navarro, considered one of the better infielders on the farm, played in 20 games for the Red Sox after appearing in 104 for the PawSox and Double-A Portland.
Tejeda batted .307 with 11 homers, 69 RBIs and 17 steals for Single-A Salem. He was a Carolina League All-Star at second base.
Eric Patterson, acquired from Oakland in a trade this summer, will also get some work in the Dominican. The organization wants him to refine his game at second base to provide some depth at the position, and to catch up on at-bats he lost while battling injuries.
"It will be good," Patterson said. "Obviously, I haven't had a whole lot of ABs this year, so I've got to make them up somewhere."
Patterson plans to play for about a month before returning home.
Robert Coello, who appeared in six games out of the Red Sox' bullpen down the stretch, will pitch for Licey of the Dominican League. Three other relievers are on the roster for Cibao, including intriguing young righties Anatenaer Batista and Pedro Perez.
Lanky lefty Kris Johnson, who was 6-13 with a 4.88 ERA for Pawtucket this year, is listed on the roster for Escogido.
The Dominican Winter League has a 50-game schedule before its winner plays in the Caribbean World Series in February.
