Christian Vazquez was made available to the media Monday for the first time since suffering a serious gash just below his left eye during a drill last Thursday.
Sporting a sizeable scar, Vazquez nonetheless expressed confidence he'll be part of the Red Sox Opening Day lineup on Thursday when the club hosts the Baltimore Orioles.
Vazquez must still have stitches removed and be seen by an eye doctor in the coming days, but expects to get clearance. He hit in the cage Monday morning, tracked some pitches in a "B'' game and also caught a bullpen from Eduardo Rodriguez.
"I'm doing good,'' said Vazquez. "My eye's good, I can see perfect. ... I'm 99 percent I can go Thursday.''
Recounting the incident, Vazquez said he was participating in a PFP (pitcher's fielding practice) drill last Thursday and got distracted by something happening at first base. As he turned to look, pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura threw the ball home and caught Vazquez unaware.
"It knocked me down,'' Vazquez recounted. "The cut is (from) the sunglasses. The sunglasses saved my eye. If I don't have (them), it was a different story. But the ball hit the sunglasses and I got cut.''
Vazquez admitted that he was initially concerned about his vision in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
"All hits in the face, you're worried,'' he said. "I was worried about my eye. But when I got hit, I opened my eye and I was (able to see). That was a good sign. That's the only concern I had.''
In the unlikely event that Vazquez can't go Thursday, Alex Cora indicated that the Sox would utilize someone on the 40-man roster for a couple of days. That would likely mean Connor Wong would be on the roster, however briefly. Ronaldo Hernandez is the only other catcher other than Kevin Plawecki, but hasn't played above Single-A.
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