FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a tough 2023 for his or her center infield, the Red Sox aren’t dashing the event of their new second baseman.
“He’s in a good spot,” Alex Cora stated of Vaughn Grissom. “I think from my end, the most important thing is getting him up to par defensively.”
Grissom spent his first full week at JetBlue Park engaged on fundamentals: footwork, arms, double performs.
“We’re taking it easy with him as far as like, getting his footsteps down and working his hands,” Cora defined. “He’s taking part in catch and all that, however we’re attempting to get his arms, his footwork and arms, the place they’re speculated to be.
The 23-year-old infielder is working with Andy Fox, “just to get him, like I said, up to speed with the position,” Cora stated.
Second base is a vital spot, and lack of stability on the place damage the Red Sox immensely final season.
“Starting double plays, turning double plays, those are game-changers. It’s a lot of momentum,” Cora stated. “You turn double play, we’re in a good spot. We don’t turn it, they’re in a great spot… We want to make sure he gets that and no doubt about it, I have no concerns that, I know he’s going to be able to play second base at a high level.”
As a former utility infielder himself, together with six seasons in Boston, Cora is aware of firsthand how totally different second base is from shortstop. The largest adjustment between the 2 is “the turn,” he stated. “The 4-6-3 (double play). For me, it was very troublesome after being on the opposite aspect. Everything goes to the left, left, left and rapidly, I gotta make a play to my proper.
How lengthy did it take him to make the adjustment? “Like, five minutes,” the supervisor joked.
“I used to get stuck, so instead of turning my feet completely, I would flip it,” he defined. I acquired this one down fairly straightforward, nevertheless it felt so awkward. Angles too, there are particular balls that, they give the impression of being, off the bat they’re slightly bit difficult… however I feel he’ll be effective. He performed second final yr.”
Unfortunately, Dustin Pedroia gained’t be paying a go to to Sox camp this spring. The four-time Gold Glove second baseman, listed at 5’9” on Baseball-Reference, is “exactly” the identical physique kind as 6’2” Grissom, Cora joked. “Actually, we should call the second baseman of the Padres,” he added, alluding to Xander Bogaerts’ new place.
Grissom’s bat can also be a piece in progress, however he’s impressed the Sox skipper so far.
“He’s been putting good swings,” his new supervisor stated on Wednesday. “In live BP (on Tuesday), he took somebody deep to right-center, (Lucas) Giolito. He has some juice, but we want him to be a complete hitter. I think the power will come with more repetitions, but what he has right now, we like.”
Though he’d choose to have these house runs come when the video games begin to depend, “any home run on any field ever, it can be WII Sports, it could be wiffle-ball, it could be anything, and it feels good,” he instructed the Herald.
“It was 3-0, so obviously a fastball’s coming, but he was like, ‘Hey! Got that one, didn’t you?” he recalled with a chuckle. He was impressed by Giolito’s two-inning efficiency. “I’m grateful I had success against him. He got everyone else, I think.”
“He’s a good hitter,” Cora reiterated after one other stay BP on Thursday, through which Grissom acquired a base hit off Brandon Walter. “He understands what he needs to do. Obviously, we would love him to hit for power, but at the same time, we gotta be careful with that. I think the power will be part of it with more at-bats, more experience, and him getting stronger, but right now I like the hitter, I like the player… That’s good enough.”
“Experience and just repetition, that’s really gonna be the thing for me,” Grissom agreed along with his supervisor.
He’s excited and motivated to earn his place in a gifted Red Sox infield. “We got a good group,” he stated. “The left aspect’s strong, with Trevor (Story) and Devvy (Rafael Devers) over there, it’s wanting good, and Casas is a big goal over (at first base).
“So, I guess it’s up to me.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com