The wait continues for Franchy Cordero to join the Boston Red Sox.
Cordero was acquired from the Royals as part of the trade that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City. A hard-hitting outfielder, Cordero was considered an early candidate to take over for Benintendi as the Red Sox’s everyday left fielder.
However, he ended up on the COVID-19 related injury list back on Feb. 22, and while it’s unclear if he was just a close contact or if he contracted the virus himself, he has yet to get cleared.
That actually has cast doubt on his Opening Day availability, and Sox manager Alex Cora indicated Wednesday that Cordero still hadn’t been cleared.
“Another day, we’re still waiting and it’s out of our hands,” Cora said Wednesday over Zoom. “So it’s frustrating, but that’s the way the process goes. So we just have to be patient with him.”
Fortunately for the Red Sox, they are healthy and loaded with utility players. Assuming Alex Verdugo is the everyday center fielder, they’ll have Hunter Renfroe, Enrique Hernandez, Marwin Gonzalez and J.D. Martinez as corner outfield options.
