BOSTON -- Third baseman Will Middlebrooks said his priority this winter is to get healthy, which for him takes precedence over playing winter ball, something the Red Sox had asked him to do.
“They know that and they understand that,” Middlebrooks said after Sunday’s season finale in Fenway Park. “That’s my first priority, is to be healthy. When spring training gets here, I want to be ready to compete. That’s my priority. I’m sick of being hurt. At no point this year was I really healthy.”
Injuries have become a regrettable staple of Middlebrooks’ first three seasons with the Sox. His promising rookie season, 2012, came to an abrupt halt in August when he was hit by a pitch that fractured his right wrist. Last season, Middlebrooks collided with catcher David Ross in May, sprained a muscle in his rib cage, then was sent to the disabled list with back spasms, his back a continuing issue for much of the season.
This season, he hyperextended a finger in training camp, strained a calf in April which put him on the disabled list, then fractured his left index finger while fielding a ground ball in May and did not return to the Sox until Aug. 1 after an extended rehab assignment (26 games) in Pawtucket that had to be restarted once after he experienced a setback. He ended the season unable to play because of a sprained right hand he sustained in batting practice.
“I never really dealt with injuries my whole life until I broke my hand and then this all started,” Middlebrooks said. “It’s been 2 ½ years.”
The Red Sox have seen only rare glimpses of the player Middlebrooks was when he burst onto the scene as a 23-year-old, hitting 15 home runs and 14 doubles in just 267 at-bats. After batting .227 with 17 home runs in 94 games in 2013, Middlebrooks played in just 63 games for the Red Sox this season, batting .191 with 2 home runs and 19 RBIs. His last home run for the Sox came on April 26.
Because his playing time was so curtailed this season, Sox GM Ben Cherington approached Middlebrooks about playing winter ball, but Middlebrooks declined, saying he preferred to work out in his home in Texas this winter. Cherington addressed the topic during his media session Monday, saying Middlebrooks’ decision to not play this winter would not impact his standing with the club this spring.
The Sox currently have three potential options on their roster to play third base: Middlebrooks and rookies Garin Cecchini and Brock Holt. Middlebrooks offers the most power potential, while Cecchini and Holt both hit from the left side. Cherington has said adding a left-handed bat is an offseason goal and acknowledged that third base is a possible place where they could add one. Chase Headley and Pablo Sandoval are two potential free-agent targets.
“I think at this point he’s made a decision that he’s going to focus on other things this winter,” Cherington said. “He feels like he can address what he needs to address without playing winter ball. That’s the decision he’s made so we expect him to be in Texas for the most part. Whatever treatment he needs will happen early in the offseason.”
Cherington remained neutral when asked whether he was in accord with that decision.
“We talk to players about all sorts of offseason stuff. Sometimes it’s not playing winter ball, sometimes it is, sometimes it’s let’s go here instead of there,” Cherington said. “That’s a conversation we had with a lot of players. We’re going to present information and what we feel like might be helpful.
“Ultimately, offseasons belong to players and they need to do what they feel is in their best interest, and that can be different for each guy. He gave it consideration, he thought about it and I think he understood where we were coming from. He just feels like it’s in his best interest to focus on an offseason without playing and get strong, get ready for spring training.”