CAP CANA, Dominican Republic — Like everyone else interested in the rebuilding of the last-place Red Sox, David Ortiz has been following the moves made by general manager Ben Cherington.
Big Papi is pleased.
Ortiz said Thursday night he is excited about the additions of Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino.
“We’re getting good players and that’s what it’s all about,” Ortiz said. “It’s going to be fun to watch [Napoli]. A power hitter, a righthander, we haven’t had that in a while.
“We had Cody [Ross] this year, but it’s going to be fun to watch Napoli hitting some balls over the Green Monster.”
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Ortiz expects he will personally benefit from having Napoli in the middle of the lineup.
“In the American League there’s a lot of good lefthanded pitching. You need that [righthanded] help. They won’t be putting too many lefties against us.
“You need guys who are game-changers and he’s one of them.”
Ortiz also approved of Victorino.
“That’s my boy,” he said. “He’s going to be a guy people are going to love in Boston. People are going to love him. He goes at it hard.
“He’s got a lot of adrenaline going on. I love that. It gets me going.”
In general, Ortiz feels better about the state of the team.