Red Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar has mostly been a center fielder during his time in the majors, but he figures to see more time in right field with the Red Sox and is trying to get used to the large dimensions at Fenway Park. Elise Amendola/Associated Press
Kevin Pillar is making a case study of the quirky dimensions and unpredictable nuances that are unique to the Fenway Park outfield.
The Fenway warning track twists and turns like the road course at auto racing’s Sonoma Raceway in California. It features an imposing left-field wall called the Green Monster with a triangle inserted between the center-field wall and the Red Sox bullpen.
Right field at Fenway is a canyon, with a waist-high fence and tricky angles that can turn singles into triples.
As a former center fielder with the Toronto Blue Jays, Pillar was slightly familiar with Fenway’s dimensions when he arrived in Boston to begin preparations for the coronavirus-shortened 60-game season – his first with the Red Sox. The outfield dimensions at JetBlue Park, the Red Sox training facility in Fort Myers, Florida, is a replica of Fenway Park.
“One of the challenges with spring training ending so abruptly and so quickly, I didn’t get a chance to spend a lot of time on the stadium field,” Pillar said following Saturday afternoon’s intrasquad scrimmage at Fenway Park
“A lot of our work was done on the back field and making that transition from part-time center fielder and part-time right fielder. I’m getting comfortable with the dimensions out here. I’m starting to get more comfortable with it.”
Pillar signed a one-year deal with Boston on Feb. 14, just a few days after the Red Sox traded All-Star right fielder Mookie Betts to the L.A. Dodgers. Andrew Benintendi will play left field and Jackie Bradley Jr. returns to center. Pillar could share playing time with Alex Verdugo in right.
“I take all my work in right field, especially now that we are here at the stadium,” said Pillar. “I’m comfortable with the configurations out there.
“I’ve never been on this side of the wall. But I’ve been here many times, and it’s a place I have a lot of fond memories as a visiting player.
“I know that center field as well as anyone, and now getting my work in in right field is extremely important to me.”
Pillar played in 12 spring training games and batted .355 (11 for 31) with four doubles and two RBI. In Saturday’s scrimmage, he had three plate appearances against Ryan Weber and went 1 for 3 with a single, a strikeout and a fly to center.
n Red Sox Manager Ron Roenicke said third-base prospect Bobby Dalbec has passed the team’s health protocols and is ready to join the team for workouts. Dalbec spent most of last season with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and finished it at Triple-A Pawtucket.
“The update today, Bobby Dalbec has been cleared to resume action with us,” Roenicke said on Saturday. “He actually joined us today and we had him over at Boston College.
“He hadn’t done much for a couple of weeks, so we went pretty slow with him. We just hit some ground balls at him a little bit and (he) took some soft toss swings in the cage. He looked good, looked strong swinging the bat, so that’s where we are on him.”
YANKEES: Slugger Aaron Judge was held out of action for a second straight day because of a stiff neck.
The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year was scratched from a simulated game Saturday after waking up with a sore neck, and the right fielder was not included in either lineup for an intrasquad scrimmage Sunday.
New York Manager Aaron Boone said Judge got treatment at Yankee Stadium on Sunday and was improving.
Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka played catch but remains in concussion protocol. He was hit in the head by Giancarlo Stanton’s 112 mph line drive eight days ago.
DODGERS: Kenley Jansen was late arriving to summer camp after he tested positive for COVID-19.
The three-time All-Star closer said on a video conference call that he believes he contracted the virus from his 4-year-old son, Kaden. He said the child had a fever, among other symptoms, which led his wife to suggest everyone in the family get tested.
Jansen said his wife, Gianni, and 7-year-old daughter, Natalia, tested positive, but that his first test was negative. A day later, he also tested positive. The couple has another son, Kyrian, who turns 2 in August. The family has been quarantining at their home in Los Angeles.
Jansen said he’s “doing great and better now.”
“It is real,” he said of the global pandemic. “Everyone in the world, take it serious. Wear your mask at all times, if you can. Because, trust me, it happens so fast. Once my son got it, I’ve seen how fast it can spread. We tried to do everything, but we all got it in the house.”
FRANK BOLLING, a two-time All-Star second baseman and the last player to hit a grand slam off Sandy Koufax, has died. He was 88.
Bolling died Saturday. He was diagnosed with cancer about five years ago, according to a notice posted by the funeral home handling the arrangements.
Bolling played 12 seasons in the majors, six with Detroit and six with the Braves, and hit .254 with 106 home runs. He won a Gold Glove in 1958 with the Tigers, and for part of that season, his double-play partner was his older brother, shortstop Milt Bolling.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.