Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Shares Honest Take On Boston's Outfield Surplus
Cora talked about the challenges of finding playing time for everyone.
Red Sox Manager Alex Cora Shares Honest Take On Boston's Outfield Surplus originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here . It's well-documented that the Boston Red Sox have as many as five starting outfielders on their depth chart, presenting a challenging day-to-day decision process for manager Alex Cora as he constructs the lineup.
On Sunday, Cora made his first adjustment to the Opening Day lineup (which also featured in Saturday's second game), inserting Masataka Yoshida into the outfield and removing Ceddanne Rafaela. Yoshida will play left field for the rubber match in Cincinnati, with Jarren Duran in center and Roman Anthony operating as DH. Wilyer Abreu will make his third consecutive start in right field, one day removed from hitting a clutch, game-tying homer for the Red Sox in the ninth inning against Reds closer Emilio Pagan.
Cora was completely open about the challenges of having a surplus of outfielders when he spoke to the media on Saturday. “It’s not easy… Whoever thinks that this is easy to move them around, they’re wrong," Cora said. "I’m going to say it like that.
It’s not that easy, but I’ll make it work. ” These comments from Alex Cora about balancing the playing time in the Red Sox outfield did stick out a bit yesterday: “It’s not easy… Whoever thinks that this is easy to move them around, they’re wrong. I’m going to say it like that.