The future of the Red Sox will be on the national stage Monday afternoon, and Alex Bregman made sure to get himself a front-row seat.
Boston will make the trip north to Sarasota, Fla., for Grapefruit League action against the Baltimore Orioles. The nationally televised game (1 p.m. ET, NESN, NESN 360) will once again feature the organization’s top prospects. Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell will all find their names penciled into Alex Cora’s lineup card against the division rivals.
So, too, will Bregman. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Bregman insisted on making the trip, despite his superstar status. Typically, a player of Bregman’s stature wouldn’t ride the bus to Sarasota, but Bregman talked his way into the mix, Olney said Sunday on WEEI’s Red Sox radio broadcast.
“This is a classic thing with Alex, like we have this game on air tomorrow, Alex was basically lobbying from what I understand, Alex Cora, (saying) ‘Hey, I want to make a trip with the young guys. I want to make a bus trip with the young guys,’ and talked himself into being the DH for (the ESPN game on Monday),” Olney told WEEI on Sunday.
This isn’t surprising to anyone who has followed Bregman’s career or has paid any attention to the early days of his Red Sox tenure. His reputation as a “baseball rat” has been well documented, and those who know him best, including Cora, rave about the impact he has on a clubhouse as a teammate and leader.
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Here’s how the Red Sox will line up for the Monday matinee with Bregman serving as the designated hitter.
Roman Anthony, CFAlex Bregman, DHMarcelo Mayer, 3BConnor Wong, CDavid Hamilton, SSKristian Campbell, LFRomy Gonzalez, 1BVaughn Grissom, 2BTrayce Thompson, RF
Hunter Dobbins, RHP
Be tuned in to NESN beginning at 1 p.m. ET for first pitch from Ed Smith Stadium.
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