FORT MYERS, Fla. — Boston Red Sox catcher David Ross originally was supposed to start Tuesday’s spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays. A foot injury altered those plans.
“He’s got a left foot issue that he’s dealing with,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said before Tuesday’s game at JetBlue Park. “The MRI (Monday) showed that there’s nothing structurally going on here. He’s got some inflammation in a tendon, so we’ve got to back him off a couple of days. It’s likely and everything projects to him being behind the plate on Friday.”
Ross missed a big chunk of the 2013 season because of concussions, but the veteran backstop emerged as a leader whenever he was around the team, including the postseason, when the 36-year-old supplanted Jarrod Saltalamacchia as the Red Sox’s starting catcher during the World Series. Farrell said several times throughout the offseason and during camp that Ross could start 50-60 games in 2014, which is more playing time than a backup catcher typically garners.
“It’s not one occurrence that something was felt,” Farrell said of the foot issue. “It’s been aggravating him a little bit, and we just felt like we needed to get ahead of it right now.”
Ross isn’t the only Red Sox catcher dealing with an ailment. A.J. Pierzynski, who was signed to a one-year deal over the offseason to be the club’s starter, rolled his left ankle for the second time this spring during Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Fortunately for the Red Sox, he, like Ross, is expected to be OK.
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