“There’s still work to do,” manager Alex Cora said before Boston’s game against the Astros on Friday. “He’s still a work in progress. He’s gotten better. The numbers show that. There’s a few things under the hood that we still need to get better at.” Cora said there are areas, both offensively and defensively, where he must improve.

Alex Cora feels ‘good’ about the Red Sox’ starting depth after the trade deadline. "We’re better than a week ago in that aspect."