FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox held their first full-squad spring training workout Thursday. The message was clear: 2013 is in the past.
Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington, manager John Farrell and several players said it’s time to move on from last season’s World Series triumph. The book on 2014 officially has been cracked open.
Below are some nuggets from Thursday’s first full-squad workout, in case you were asleep at the wheel or something.
– Neither Stephen Drew nor agent Scott Boras were lurking in any bushes — as far as I could tell — and the Red Sox still appear perfectly content to move on from the shortstop unless the right deal comes along.
“Right now, as far as the position player group, we’re focused on the guys that are here,” Cherington said regarding Drew. “We’ve got infielders here in camp who are into their workouts and getting ready to play games. We have a lot of faith in those infielders.”
– Cherington didn’t rule out re-signing Drew, though. The Red Sox GM said he’s staying open-minded about adding players.
“We’ll use spring training to canvas every other team’s camp,” Cherington said. “There’s been an interest this winter in acquiring some additional infield depth. We’ve done some of that, but we at least have an open mind there. My guess is that that’s a spring training thing, and maybe nothing happens. But more generally, we’ll do what we do every year, and that is we have scouts in every camp. We know who is more likely to be available, and we’ll scout those guys and see if anything makes sense.”
– Sure enough, the Red Sox added a player shortly after Cherington’s media availability. They reportedly agreed to a contract with left-hander Chris Capuano, a native of West Springfield, Mass.
Capuano figures to play the role vacated by Ryan Dempster.
– Daniel Nava talked about potentially batting leadoff in 2014. As you might expect, he’s OK with the whole thing.
– John Lackey said he’s feeling great physically. Lackey, of course, is entering his second season since undergoing Tommy John surgery before the 2012 campaign.
– There was plenty of buzz surrounding David Ortiz on Thursday.
– Xander Bogaerts continued to see action only at shortstop. It appears the Red Sox would rather have him develop there than bounce around between shortstop and third base.
– Will Middlebrooks — donning a “Relentless” sleeveless T-shirt in the clubhouse — said he’s focused on moving past his shaky 2013.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Middlebrooks said. “I still have to come here and do my job. Whether they sign five third basemen, I still have to come in and compete for a job. I’ll just put my head down and work hard.”
– Funny story to pass along.
One fan yelled to David Ross, “Great year last year, Cody,” obviously mixing up the Red Sox catcher with former Boston outfielder Cody Ross.
Ross jokingly responded, “That’d be awesome if that was my name.” The fan at first was dumbfounded but joked back, “That’s why Pedey’s my favorite player.”
A.J. Pierzynski chimed in, too, saying to another fan: “His name’s David. The World Series DVDs are on sale in the gift shop.”
Everyone was just busting each other’s chops, as it was a real laid-back atmosphere.
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