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Red Sox’ depth options for 1B limited for now, so Isiah Kiner-Falefa steps up
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- Red Sox’ depth options for 1B limited for now, so Isiah Kiner-Falefa steps up
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Early in Red Sox camp, some candidates for first base are limited by injuries.
Triston Casas is still recovering from major knee surgery last May. Romy Gonzalez, battling a left shoulder injury from last September and a January set-back, isn’t yet cleared for baseball activities, having received a PRP shot.
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Into this breach has stepped newly-signed Isiah Kiner-Falefa , who is fully intent on putting the “utility” back in super-utility player as a backup option to Willson Contreras .
Kiner-Falefa’s principal positions are second, short and third. But having played literally every other position on the field in the majors — including catcher — Kiner-Falefa has one last positional box to check.
And so it was that for the second straight day Monday, he got some work in at first.
“Having experience all over the field helps out a lot so going there is a little easier,” he said. “I think the hardest thing is the range factor, getting back to the base, footwork and then the cuts (cutoff plays on throws from the outfield) and bunt plays.
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“Other than that, playing the position, I felt fine. It’s going to be more about the bunt plays, holding the runner on, the little things that make some guys better than other guys. If I’m at any spot on the field, I want to make sure I’m the right guy for the job. If I have to pinch run for Willson (Contreras) late in the game, they’re not going to move (Caleb) Durbin or Marcelo (Mayer) off their spots because they’re really, really good players. If that’s how I fit in, I’ve got to keep working there.”
It may be that Kiner-Falefa isn’t needed at first at all. But he’d rather be proactive now and get acclimated then to scramble and have to play catch-up when called upon.
“Instead of doing it the day before they think about putting me in that situation,” he said, “this gives me time to work on things and gives them time to see me out there and see if they actually want to trust me instead of doing it on the fly. It’s smart to try it early. I’ll probably be in the outfield one of these days, who knows? Even if I put the (catcher’s) gear on, I’d rather do it now than the day before they’re thinking about it.
“I think my job as a utility player is, I have to be ready for anything and everything. It’s just allowing me to not starting doing things in the middle of August.”
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Kiner-Falefa last played first — for four innings — in the minors.
“It’s the last (position) I haven’t played in the big leagues,” he said with a smile, “so when they asked me, I was excited. Once I checked this one, I can do it all, officially.”
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