Kyle Schwarber is eager to show some of his other skills, and the Boston Red Sox likely will allow him to do so in the near future.
The Red Sox slugger told reporters Wednesday he’s ready to play defense for Boston. Having recovered from hamstring and groin injuries that sidelined him for six weeks. Schwarber has appeared in four games for the Red Sox as the designated hitter, playing that role as part of Boston’s cautious approach to his comeback. He now believes he’s ready to play the field again.
“My legs feel good,” he said, per The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham. “If that’s what they decide, I’m ready to go.”
Schwarber has six-plus years of big-league experience as an outfielder. He’s willing to play there or at first base, a position he intends to master in order to increase his playing time and help the Red Sox. So when will he play first?
“That’s up to them,” Schwarber said, per Abraham. “I feel like I could do it. I feel pretty comfortable there, so hopefully it’s soon.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Schwarber will play outfield for Boston before his experiment at first begins.
“He’s feeling a lot better,” Cora said, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “You saw him running yesterday. He moved well. He worked earlier today at first. Now, he’ll go back out there for batting practice. We’ll keep working with that, but first things first, he’ll play the outfield, of course, before he plays first base.”
The Red Sox will begin their series against the Texas Rangers on Friday night at Fenway Park. There’s a good chance Schwarber will start as an outfielder in at least one of those games. He, Cora and the Red Sox will take it from there.
