How Alex Cora Addressed Idea Of Alex Bregman Playing Second Base

When Alex Bregman signed with the Red Sox, it seemed clear where he would slot in the lineup, but Alex Cora wanted to push pause on those ideas.

Boston officially signed Bregman to a three-year deal Saturday. That meant Cora didn’t have to beat around the bush and could talk about the All-Star infielder openly. However, he did hold back on the idea of Bregman playing second base.

“We’ll talk about that later on,” Cora told reporters, as seen on NESN. “Right now, there’s a lot of stuff going on as far as where we’re gonna be at roster-wise, and we’ll make the decision when we have to make it.”

Cora did tease that Boston was “not done” making roster moves, so the Red Sox manager likely did not want to commit to anything, especially since full team workouts don’t begin until Monday. However, Cora remained confident in Bregman’s versatility.

“He’s a Gold Glove third baseman. He hasn’t played second base in the big leagues,” Cora said. “I do believe he can be a Gold Glove second baseman, too. Like I said, there’s sort of other stuff that comes into play as far as roster construction and what’s better for the team and what can be the best lineup. And competition comes into play. He’ll play in Texas, I’ll guarantee you that. He’ll be in the lineup. Where? We’ll talk about it later.”

Cora reiterated that he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. Boston invited Kristian Campbell to spring training, and Vaughn Grissom remains motivated to earn an Opening Day roster spot. Cora possibly doesn’t want to deter any of his players from staying motivated and chose not to commit to any plans for Bregman, who only showed up to Fort Myers, Fla., on Friday.

Notably, Bregman did start turning double plays from shortstop before moving to second base Saturday morning.

The two-time World Series champion, his agent Scott Boras, team president Sam Kenney, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and Cora will speak more in a news conference scheduled at 8:30 a.m. ET. You can watch the news conference live on NESN and NESN 360 and check out more spring training updates on “310 To Left.”