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Boston Red Sox’ Alex Cora: ‘His power is going to play at Fenway’
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- Boston Red Sox’ Alex Cora: ‘His power is going to play at Fenway’
FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox expect right-handed hitter Willson Contreras to hit for power to the pull side and use the Green Monster to his advantage.
“His power is going to play at Fenway,” manager Alex Cora said. “We know that.”
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The 33-year-old first baseman showed Tuesday he also can hit for opposite-field power.
He crushed a 98.2 mph fastball from Pirates righty Antwone Kelly 385 feet over the right-center field wall. Boston lost 16-7 to Pittsburgh in a Grapefruit League game.
“When you can hit the fastball to right-center, and then the soft stuff you can pull in the air, you have a good hitter,” Cora said. “And he is a really good hitter.”
The Red Sox acquired Contreras in a trade with St. Louis on Dec. 21 .
“He’s happy here,” Cora said. “He likes our hitting program. He did a lot of good things last year. He was banged up early in the season. He was trying to do a lot with the group that they had. Willson and I believe Nolan (Arenado), too, they felt the pressure of, ‘We have to produce for this to happen.’ And that’s when you get into trouble and you start chasing pitches.”
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Contreras’ baseball IQ also has caught Cora’s attention.
“The way he thinks the game is impressive,” Cora said. “It’s refreshing because he’s in tune with the game.”
Cora pointed out how Contreras is 2-for-3 on the ABS challenge system .
“He was talking about spin inside, like backup cutters, backup sliders, you’ve got to be careful challenging because you think they’re deeper than what it is,” Cora said.
Rafaela also homers on a fastball
Ceddanne Rafaela hit his first home run of spring training, connecting on a 90.6 mph fastball from righty Thomas Harrington .
“He (caught) up with the fastball and that’s something that the last two years has been on and off,” Cora said. “And for him to get to that pitch and hit it in the air, it was good. He looks stronger than in the past.”
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Cora said he needs to make sure he takes care of Rafaela physically with occasional days off to put him in a better position come August and September.
“I truly believe that because of where he’s at, his weight, and the season, how he goes about it, and the way he plays center field, it took a toll on him offensively,” Cora said. “You can see his numbers. He was really, really good until the All-Star break. And then he had a stretch that he was OK. And after that, he wasn’t great.
“He will have his moments, but we need him to be more consistent in August and September, and I’m going to help him with that,” Cora added.
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