It’s still pretty weird to know a “Jeter” is now one of the future faces of the Boston Red Sox.
Jeter Downs, the young infielder whom the Red Sox acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the blockbuster trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to Hollywood, was one of the first position players to report to Red Sox spring training Wednesday.
Downs is unlikely to break camp with the big club, and it’s pretty unlikely he’s a regular contributor in Boston before the 2021 season. Still, his arrival Wednesday was greeted with an unsurprising amount of curiosity, and the first impression of the 21-year-old is that he’s pretty outgoing.
The young infielder held court with the media inside the Red Sox clubhouse, and he showed a side of himself that the New York Yankees legend he was named after rarely displayed.
In fact, Downs also told the story of almost kind of recently meeting Derek Jeter for the first time.
Downs and the rest of his new teammates don’t officially get to work until Monday, Feb. 17 when they have their first full-squad workout.
