Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has struggled to release the ball with the velocity to get much-needed outs. The 22-year-old is working to overcome nerves and make the necessary throws.
“Sometimes I catch the ball, see if it’s an easy out, and that’s when I get in trouble,” he said yesterday. “Pass it through (first baseman Mike) Napoli’s chest — that’s what I need to do. But don’t go light just because it looks easy.”
After spending the winter working out with Dustin Pedroia, he's ready to unveil his new arm. The Red Sox are noticing the time he has put in to improve.
“If you look at his arm stroke now compared to this time a year ago, it was longer last year,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “So he would cut the ball, it would sail, it would sink, it wouldn’t have the true backspin he’s generating now, which adds to the carry of throws. He’s done quite a bit of work on just maintaining a strong front side with his direction and a shorter arm stroke to give that true rotation to the throws.”
Now that Bogaerts is showing a much more powerful arm, Red Sox infield coach Brian Butterfield is optimistic that his hard work will pay off.
“Bogey is in great shape, has worked hard in the offseason to get better, and that’s one of the things that sticks out to us,” Butterfield said. “We know we have a guy playing in the middle of our infield that cares about getting better and he’ll do anything he can to move up in that regard.”