FORT MYERS, Fla. — Nick Yorke, a top second-base prospect for the Boston Red Sox, will begin getting work in the outfield.
“He’s gonna get some reps probably in batting practice and in the back fields,” Manager Alex Cora said Thursday. “But not during the games for now.”
The Red Sox hope they have their long-term solution at second base in 23-year-old Vaughn Grissom, who was acquired from the Braves for Chris Sale in December. Grissom is under team control through 2029. That leaves Yorke’s status in question.
Yorke, Boston’s 2020 first-round draft pick, said he is glad to have Grissom in the mix because they are good friends and he feels they can co-exist together on the roster someday.
“In terms of possibly changing positions, I couldn’t care less where I play,” Yorke said. “I just want to make it to the big leagues. I’m a big believer that my best is better than anyone’s best. So if I do what I’ve got to do and no matter who’s there, it doesn’t really affect me.”
Yorke experienced some struggles after a dominant first pro season. He’s no longer ranked on Baseball America’s Top 100 list after being listed as high as No. 31. He spent 2023 with the Portland Sea Dogs, where he batted .268 with 13 homers, 25 doubles, five triples, 74 runs, 61 RBI, 51 walks, 122 strikeouts and 18 steals in 110 games (506 plate appearances).
Now he will eagerly jump to the outfield.
“That’s something he wants to do,” Cora said. “He understands where he’s at with the organization. I want to see him play. I know some people are down on him for X or Y reason. I remember him playing here a few years ago. I loved the at-bat. I loved the fact that everything we’ve asked him to do the last few years, he’s done it. Showing up early in camp. He gets here in January early. So just go out there, compete, play good defense. He’s getting bigger and bigger, and stronger and stronger. So it will be fun to watch him play.”
ALEX VERDUGO is now with the New York Yankees after being traded by the Red Sox, but insists he has no hard feelings toward Alex Cora, who benched him twice in Boston last year.
Verdugo, the left-handed-hitting corner outfielder, was part of a rare trade between the AL East rivals in December. He played for Cora the past three seasons.
“It’s one of those things that, it’s a little bit weird because outside of the game, he was great. Even as a manager, he’s a good manager,” Verdugo said.
“In certain ways, AC was hard on me, but I don’t have any hard feelings toward him. It’s one of those things toward the end we kind of ran our course out a little bit. But as a person and outside of baseball, I loved him. I loved his kids, his family.”
Verdugo was benched by Cora on June 8 for not hustling between first and second base on a grounder a night earlier, and again Aug. 5 for arriving late at the ballpark.
JOELY RODRIGUEZ, a veteran left-hander, has rejoined the Red Sox on a minor league contract. He is in big league camp but won’t take up a spot on the 40-man roster. Rodríguez, who was injured for most of his first season with the Red Sox in 2023, will get a chance to make the team, which is thin on left-handed relief options.
Pitching coach Andrew Bailey confirmed the pending signing.
“Excited for him. We know health is a priority for him,” Bailey said. “He’s got electric stuff. He’s around here getting his physical done. Excited to meet him. I know he’s a loud, boisterous personality and a good guy to have around so we’re excited to have him back here.”
Rodríguez, 32, was a failed free-agent addition by ex-chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom last winter. The first move of that winter for the Sox, Rodriguez signed a one-year, $2 million deal with an option for 2024. According to baseball sources, that was a reworked version of a previously agreed-upon deal that was revised once balky medicals came back.
Health then became a major issue for Rodríguez, who was supposed to provide a lethal left-handed arm out of the bullpen. Injuries limited him to 11 innings on the season; he posted a 6.55 ERA in that span.
Rodríguez suffered an oblique strain during an outing in spring training, then didn’t debut until May 17. He was tagged with eight earned runs in four innings over five games in May before hitting the injured list again with shoulder inflammation at the beginning of June.
He returned right before the All-Star break and was good for the Sox in July, striking out nine in seven shutout innings in six games.
Then, in late July, he suffered a hip injury that ended his season. Boston declined a team option on him in November.
Bailey said the Rodríguez signing was about adding depth.
“We’ve got to get lefties out. You can’t ever have enough lefties,” he said. “There was an opportunity from the front office to sign him and we jumped at it.”
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