Christian Arroyo now can call himself a true infield utility player.
After having played second, third and shortstop throughout his Major League Baseball career, he made his first start at first base Sunday against the New York Yankees.
"Good athlete, good defender, we're comfortable with it," Cora said of Arroyo ahead of the series finale. "He's earned his playing time, let's put it that way. He's putting good at bats. He's hitting good pitches and he deserves to start. He's comfortable with it. I am comfortable with it so we'll go from there."
With outfielder Jarren Duran having recently been called up and Xander Bogaerts back at shortstop after missing a game, Kiké Hernández started at second for the Red Sox, with Arroyo taking Bobby Dalbec's spot in the field.
It had less to do with the pitching matchup, Cora said, and more about Arroyo's production at the plate.
"I think it's more about swinging the bat well, and obviously we have our information," Cora said. "It's not too complicated, sometimes I think people think that it's about their stuff and the sweet path and all that, and sometimes it's just like, you know what, it's a good day for this kid to play. The way he's swung the bat for a few games here, he deserves to play."
Entering Sunday's game in New York, Arroyo was batting .273 with 25 RBIs, despite only playing in 49 games due to some pesky injuries and unlucky trips to the 10-day injured list.
He hasn't taken Dalbec's job entirely, though.
"With Bobby, obviously he'll play against lefties," Cora explained. "We will use him against lefties and there's going to be a few righties that will use, but as of now, it's Christian against a righty, and we'll go from there the rest of the week."
First pitch Sunday between the Red Sox and Yankees is 7:08 p.m. ET.
