FORT MYERS, FL. -- Insisting that they're merely exercising precaution, the Red Sox Friday said they had shut down promising righthander Brayan Bello until Monday after Bello experienced some soreness in his right forearm following a recent bullpen session.
"Nothing too alarming,'' said Alex Cora, "but obviously, he's so important to the organization and what we're trying to accomplish. He'll be back on his throwing program on Monday. I talked to him, one of those heart-to-heart (discussions and asked), 'Did this happen here or did it happen before?' He was like, 'no, no, no.' He threw a lot of breaking balls in that one and it was kind of like a different bullpen for him and he felt it.
"But we're very confident that Monday, he's back on his throwing program and we'll go from there.''
Also, Nick Pivetta walked off the field with a trainer Friday, but that was due to fatigue from COVID, which he contracted before camp began. Pivetta is feeling better, but felt some fatigue.
"He's just building back,'' said Cora. "He threw (Thursday) on flat ground.''
Finally, Garrett Whitlock, who underwent hip surgery last September, has yet to be fully cleared to take part in pitchers' fielding practice.
"That's the last hurdle,'' said Cora. "He threw a very aggressive bullpen today and he looked good. But obviously, there's some stuff that we have to make sure we can accomplish before he does the whole thing. But so far, so good.''
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Some new rules involving the size of bases and limits to the number of pickoff throws allowed has led to many predicting that stolen bases will be up sharply in 2023.
But Cora is wary of being overly aggressive on the bases.
"Twenty-seven outs are too valuable,'' cautioned Cora, "and when you get thrown out on the bases, it's one less. You've got to be smart about it. I think last year, we did a good job advancing (on dirt balls and the like). We got thrown out in certain situations, but it was on 3-and-2 counts. We're going to push the envelope on 3-and-2; if we don't make contact, we'll get thrown out. But we're betting on the hitters. I go over that on a daily basis.
"You've got to take care of those outs because they're so valuable, especially (with the quality of pitching in the game). You don't get too many chances. And if we're going to become an on-base percentage type of team, well, if you get on, you've got to be smart about it. We have to be efficient stealing bases and running the bases.''
Cora bemoaned the general quality of baserunning in the game.
"Baserunning, around baseball, is at its worst,'' he said. "Guys don't get good primary leads, they don't get good secondaries, they don't anticipate. The game itself, developing those instincts, it doesn't happen in youth baseball any more. We have to do a better job coaching guys in that sense. I think as far as what we're trying to accomplish, we gotta get back to being efficient, be smart and take advantage of certain situations.''
Cora identified Alex Verdugo and Kikê Hernandez as two who could run more.
The manager said the Sox will be shooting for an 80 percent success rate on stolen base attempts.
"In the environment that we play, at Fenway,'' he said, "you have to be very cautious about getting thrown out because you're in scoring position at first base.''
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Earlier in his career, Adam Duvall had back-to-back 30-plus homer seasons with Cincinnati. Now in a very friendly hitting environment for a righthanded power hitter, that kind of power could return.
"I'm a home run, RBI-type of guy,'' said Duvall. "I pride myself in driving runners in and that's what I've been able to do over my career. I'm going to continue to look to do that. At the end of the day, it's about putting together a good at-bat, passing the torch and just being a tough out. I figure if we can do that up-and-down the lineup, you're going to score runs and put pressure on the other team.''
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Cora said the team might experiment with a number of different leadoff hitters at the top of the lineup with Masataka Yoshida, Christian Arroyo, Hernandez and Verdugo as possible options. "I don't think we're going to go, 'This is the guy for 162 games,' '' said Cora. "We'll mix and match obviously. Someone will lead off more than others. The goal here is to get as many baserunners as possible. That's what we're trying to accomplish.''...Only a handful of players have yet to report to camp. Among those delayed are catcher Jorge Alfaro, who is awaiting a visa, and outfielder Raimel Tapia, who was expected to arrive in Fort Myers Friday afternoon. Outfielder Greg Allen is also expected soon.