McAdam: Tragedy rocks Red Sox as Blake Swihart's younger brother passes away

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The tranquil nature of spring training was shattered for the Red Sox on Wednesday morning with the shocking news that Romell Jordan, 23, the younger brother of catcher Blake Swihart, died unexpectedly Wednesday morning.

Swihart, who had been in the original lineup for the Red Sox' Grapefruit League meeting with the Baltimore Orioles, was scratched from the lineup late in the morning.

It became apparent that something was off minutes before 8 a.m. when the Red Sox abruptly announced that there would be no access to the clubhouse from 8 a.m to 9 a.m. as it typical on a daily basis. The club also rescheduled manager Alex Cora's daily media briefing, scheduled for 9:30 while the Sox held a team meeting.

The players emerged from the clubhouse with somber looks and the early workouts lacked the usual playfulness and chatter.

A team spokesman, prior to Cora's delayed media availability, announced only that a team member was dealing with a ''family emergency,'' and that no further details would be announced for the time being.

The Sox finally announced the news less than a half hour before game-time.

A visibly shaken Cora, speaking in almost hushed tones, then spoke cryptically about how the team was responding.

"It's tough,'' said Cora, "it's very tough. We went through Nick (Cafardo, the Boston Globe baseball columnist who passed away suddenly last week) and now we're going through this. It's not easy honestly. You start thinking about some of the things I said last week....same feelings today. Same feelings.''

It marked the second time in the first few weeks of camp that Cora has had to address the team about someone's passing, having spoken in the clubhouse following Cafardo's passing and encouraging them to play the game with joy as a tribute to the reporter.

Following Wednesday's address, Cora praised his players for their closeness and caring for one another.

"For everything we went through last year, and it was awesome, was we really became a family. You start looking at everything we went through and it was amazing. But there are certain days, you look back and you're like, 'Yeah, that's what makes this special.' The same way when they were there for me (when the son of Cora's college teammate died in a car accident), I'm going to be there for them.

"It hurts, it hurts. It's tough. I know it's part of this because it's life. I said it last week -- it's not about what happens on the field. It's the other stuff that happens. We're going to have some great days and some tough days. But in the end, we do care about each other. We turn the page on whatever happens on the field. And we're very close. We're very close.

"That's a special group in there. They're very special. They're very close and they spend time together. We'll be OK. We know that. But it puts everything in perspective again. It's just a game."