FORT MYERS, Fla. — Mike Napoli started a seven-run fourth inning with a broken-bat homer and Justin Masterson allowed one run in 52/3 innings as the Boston Red Sox rolled to a 14-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Napoli had his bat sawed off on an inside pitch from Brian Duensing. The Red Sox went on to score six more times in the inning off Duensing. Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia hit run-scoring doubles.

The outburst was some good news after the Red Sox placed catcher Christian Vazquez on the 60-day disabled list with a right elbow sprain earlier in the day. Vazquez will get a second opinion Wednesday from orthopedist James Andrews in Gulf Breeze, Florida, and could be facing season-ending Tommy John ligament-reconstruction surgery.

Masterson scattered five hits while striking out four and walking one. He had given up nine runs in 121/3 innings in his previous four starts.

Twins reliever Blaine Boyer made an emergency start and pitched 12/3 innings in place of Kyle Gibson, who had the flu.

n Boston acquired catcher Sandy Leon from the Washington Nationals for cash considerations.

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The Red Sox said Leon will be assigned to major league camp.

TIGERS: Justin Verlander will miss his scheduled spring training start Thursday but hopes to take his first scheduled regular-season turn on April 8 against Minnesota.

Verlander left Friday’s exhibition outing with a cramp in his right triceps. He threw on Sunday but still had soreness on Monday.

ORIOLES: Shortstop J.J. Hardy will likely begin the season on the disabled list because of a strained left shoulder.

Everth Cabrera and Portland’s Ryan Flaherty are the primary candidates to start the season at shortstop.

CARDINALS: St. Louis picked Carlos Martinez as its fifth starter and put pitcher Jaime Garcia on the 15-day disabled list.

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CUBS: Third baseman Kris Bryant was reassigned to minor league camp despite an outstanding spring training at the plate, triggering a threat of litigation from the players’ association.

Bryant hit .425 in the exhibition season with nine homers and 15 RBI in 40 at-bats.

If the 23-year-old spends 12 or more days in the minor leagues, Chicago would delay him from becoming eligible for free agency by one year, until after the 2021 season, according to baseball’s collective bargaining agreement.

Bryant, who is not on the 40-man roster, was slowed defensively in the middle of camp by right shoulder soreness.

BREWERS: Chris Perez, a former All-Star closer, was released in his bid for a setup job in Milwaukee’s bullpen.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Montreal needs a new stadium to have any chance of bringing the sport back to the city.

“The key thing in Montreal would be to have a plan for an adequate facility that could support baseball over the long haul,” he told The Canadian Press just a few days before Montreal hosts two exhibition games between the Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds at Olympic Stadium.


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