There’s plenty of new players for manager Alex Cora to get to know this Spring Training as the Boston Red Sox’s roster underwent a facelift this offseason.
A first impression is everything and Adalberto Mondesi, who the Red Sox acquired in exchange for reliever Josh Taylor last month, seems to be making the most of his.
Standing at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, the middle infielder will never be confused for a slugger, but Cora was taken aback by Mondesi’s frame and compared it to a former Red Sox shortstop.
“Wait till you see him,” Cora told reporters from the Red Sox’s Spring Training facility on Tuesday, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “I thought he was like smaller. But he’s like Xander-esque as far as like tall, strong, big legs.”
Mondesi enters his first season in Boston after playing just 15 games in his final campaign with the Kansas City Royals due to ACL surgery he underwent last May.
The 27-year-old is still working his way back from that major injury and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be ready for Opening Day. But Cora has noticed the athleticism Mondesi is already flashing.
“(Mondesi) was running yesterday and you can see it. He’s elite in speed,” Cora said. “He’s running at 70% and you can see it. Dynamic, good defender. We still have to work on the offensive side of it just to make sure he gets on base at a higher rate. But this guy, I saw one season his on-base percentage was .308 and he stole 24 bags so the stolen base aspect is real.”
Mondesi is a career .244 hitter and doesn’t take many free passes, either. In his seven big league seasons, Mondesi has recorded 412 strikeouts compared to walking just 60 times.
But Cora obviously believes there’s enough talent to work with to turn Mondesi into a reliable contributor with the Red Sox this upcoming season.
