GLENDALE, Ariz. — Yoan Moncada is trying to get acclimated to third base.
It isn’t easy when nobody hits baseballs to you.
“The only action I get is when the hitter strikes out and the catcher throws the ball to me,” Moncada said through translator Billy Russo.
Oh, and there was a foul ball to pick up that one time.
“Yeah it is weird,” Moncada said Friday. “Nobody is hitting the ball that way. Hopefully [Saturday]. I will be ready.”
Moncada is making a transition from second base to third base this spring, and in four games had one play, and it took a deflection of a batted ball off the pitcher for him to get involved. He pounced on it in front of the shortstop and made a nice play with a strong throw.
Moncada was not in the Sox lineup Friday when the Sox (1-5-1) traveled to Surprise to play the Rangers for a Cactus League game.
Here is the Sox lineup, with offseason acquisition Ivan Nova making his first start for the Sox:
Adam Engel CF
Leury Garcia RF
Yonder Alonso 1B
Welington Castillo C
Eloy Jimenez LF
Ryan Goins SS
Nick Madrigal 2B
Luis Gonzalez DH
Danny Mendick 3B
Ivan Nova P
Moncada, meanwhile, continued to work at the hot corner Friday.
“I’ve been practicing every day, twice a day,” Moncada said. “During BP, and then after I go to another field with Super Joe [coach Joe McEwing]. The extra work is helping me get more comfortable.”
Moncada has played third before — he broke in for eight games with the Red Sox as their top prospect at third base in 2016.
“At third base you have to be more focused and more alert,” he said. “It’s a position where you have to react, almost without thinking. You have to focus on what’s going on at all times.”
At the plate, Moncada is 5-for-11 with a double and triple this spring.
NOTES: Catcher Seby Zavala has a strained left quad and is day-to-day. Zavala went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored against the Athletics Saturday and hasn’t played since.
Zavala, expected to open the season at Class AAA Charlotte with a chance to break into the majors this season, is ranked No. 22 among Sox prospects. He called the strain minor and said he expects to return next week.
*Right-hander Ivan Nova, acquired Nova from the Pirates in exchange for minor-league pitcher Yordi Rosario and international signing bonus pool money, made 29 starts for the Pirates last season, including Opening Day, and posted a 4.19 ERA. He averaged 1.96 walks per nine innings.
