The injury bug may have bitten a few Red Sox already, but Boston is remaining resilient.
Alex Verdugo, who joined the Sox on Feb. 9 in a trade that sent Mookie Betts and David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers, has been coping with a stress fracture in his back this offseason. Interim manager Ron Roenicke believes Verdugo may start swinging the bat as soon as this week, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Chris Sale also is progressing, throwing a brief 15-pitch live batting practice Sunday in which he faced his first batter since Aug. 13. He’s recouping from a bout of pneumonia that set his spring training workload back two weeks.
Xander Bogaerts, however, may need some time to let his ankle injury heal. Roenicke is confident the shortstop will be ready for Opening Day but said he’s still “a ways away” from playing in games, per Speier.
Andrew Benintendi is battling a new injury of his own, though it appears to be much less severe. The 25-year-old felt tightness in his quad Thursday and has “had a couple of down days,” though Roenicke believes “he’s fine.”
The Red Sox kick off the regular season March 26 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
