Red Sox Notebook: Newcomer Gonzalez bullish on Red Sox chances; outfielders will mix-and-match

Marwin Gonzalez spent the last four seasons -- the first two in Houston, the last two in Minnesota -- playing for winning organizations. In each of those four seasons, his team finished first in its division and qualified for the postseason each time.

So why did Gonzalez, as a free agent, elect to sign with a Red Sox team who finished last in the A.L. East and had their worst season in 55 years?

"This has always been a really good team, one of the most iconic teams in the big leagues,'' said Gonzalez. "I think every player would love to play here.''

And while expectations are modest for the 2021 club, Gonzalez is conceding nothing.

"I know it sounds crazy,'' offered Gonzalez, "but I think it doesn't matter how bad the team was last year. I see a lot of potential in this clubhouse - really good talent and young guys who are hungry to play. What I've seen so far in this camp is we have a chance; 2020 is in the past. This is a brand new season and I think we have a really good chance to fight for a spot in the playoffs.''

Of course, it also helped that Gonzalez has a relationship with Alex Cora. The two were together in 2017 when Cora served as the Astros' bench coach and the team won the World Series.

"I think the way that he handles everything and the way that he treats the players, he's one of the best coaches I've had throughout my career,'' Gonzalez said of Cora. "He knows how to handle teams, the right moment to talk to you. I think he's super smart and I appreciate him a lot.''

In addition to being able to play all four infield positions and both corner spots in the outfield, Cora has said he wants Gonzalez to be a presence in the clubhouse and serve a leadership role.

"I'm always a guy who's trying to help in every way they can,'' he said. "We have a lot of young guys with a lot of potential, so I think it's going to be interesting throughout the season about how it's going to go.''

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Cora remains somewhat evasive on his outfield alignment plans, while acknowledging that he won't have a set alignment on a day-to-day basis.

The manager expects Alex Verdugo to play both right field and center, though it could depend on pitching matchups, home or road and various other factors. Hunter Renfroe is another who can play either center or right.

"One thing's for sure -- we're not going to have a set-lineup and we're going to have moving parts the whole season,'' said Cora. "These guys, defensively, wherever you put them, they're average or above average. That's going to make it easier to do this.''

He also noted that while the batting order remains under discussion, Verdugo will likely hit either leadoff or second. If  Kiké Hernández sticks in the leadoff spot, Verdugo would drop down to second, giving the Sox the potential to hit to balance lefty and righty hitters at the top of the order.

Meanwhile, Verdugo, who had been held out of the first five games at his own request so he could work on his swing, returned to action and belted a double and scored a run.

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The Red Sox added outfield prospect Gilberto Jimenez to their spring training roster and extended him an invitation to camp. Jimenez is the organization's second-best outfield prospect behind Jarren Duran, though, at 20, he has a lot more developing to do. He hasn't played above Low A, but he's considered a toolsy outfielder with elite speed and raw power. The Sox now have 74 players in camp -- the 40-man roster, plus 34 invitees -- just one below the maximum  number allowed.

Triston Casas, who had been in Boston to treat a non-baseball health concern, returned to Fort Myers...Franchy Cordero had his first workout with the team, having cleared the necessary COVID-19 protocols. Cordero hasn't officially been added to the active roster; the Sox will have to make a corresponding move to clear space....The Sox came to term with 22 players -- all of them in the 0-3 years of major league service time. Verdugo, the most prominent among these, agreed to $649,500, while Michael Chavis will get $575,500....Chavis hit a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Sox a 6-5 win over the Rays....Nathan Eovaldi was scheduled to pitch Saturday, but because he missed a day during the week for personal reasons, will be pushed back to Tuesday. Without Eovaldi, the Sox will use Saturday as a bullpen game.