It appears as though Red Sox manager Alex Cora is using spring training to have some fun.
Sure, the Red Sox bench boss is going to use the training sessions to prepare for Opening Day against the Baltimore Orioles on March 30. He’s also using it to drum up some talking points for those back in Boston.
Cora revealed his lineup for Sunday’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Take a look to see if you can spot the oddity.
1. Triston Casas
2. Rafael Devers
3. Justin Turner
4. Masataka Yoshida
5. Alex Verdugo
6. Kiké Hernández
7. Adam Duvall
8. Connor Wong
9. Niko Goodrum
That’s right, the Red Sox are using their 6-foot-4, 250-pount first baseman as a leadoff hitter in spring training. It kind of makes sense, given he’s known for his ability to get on base, but Cora had a much funnier reason.
“Cora said Casas is hitting leadoff so the media has something to talk about,” Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe tweeted Saturday. ” ‘I did it on purpose,’ he said.”
The Red Sox have done some funky things already this postseason. Cora has slotted Masataka Yoshida in the cleanup spot on multiple occasions, though the prevailing though entering 2023 was that he would be used primarily in the leadoff spot. There was also the whole pitch-clock fiasco in their first Grapefruit League game Saturday.
If the early days are any indication, the 2023 Red Sox are going to be an interesting team to follow.
