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RED SOX NOTEBOOK

‘I think he’s just joking,’ Dombrowski says of Ortiz’s Instagram post

David Ortiz got fans thinking about a possible comeback with a caption he wrote on Instagram after the Chris Sale trade.file/GENE J. PUSKAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS

OXON HILL, Md. — When the Red Sox acquired Chris Sale on Tuesday, David Ortiz posted a photo of the lefthander on his Instagram account with a caption that had fans hoping.

“My God. My boy Sale to Btown? You guys got me thinking,” he wrote.

Big Papi was just having some fun, it seems. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Wednesday has no plans to check in on the retired slugger.

“It’s amazing the number of people that reached out to me [Wednesday] night on that,” Dombrowski said. “No, I don’t reach out to him. I know David well enough, I know if he really had sincere interest that he would call . . . I think he’s just joking.”

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Ortiz officially retired last month and would not be able to come back for the first two months of next season as a result. He said in the Dominican Republic last week that there was no chance he would return.

What’s the holdup?

The Red Sox agreed on a contract with first baseman Mitch Moreland on Tuesday, according to multiple major league sources. But the Red Sox have yet to announce it.

“We made strides with an individual. But I’m not in a position to really say much about that,” Dombrowski said. “As far as a lefthanded hitter, we haven’t officially done anything in that regard.”

Dombrowski was smiling all the while.

It’s possible the Sox haven’t yet had a chance to review Moreland’s medical records. Or they may be waiting to see what transpires at the Rule 5 draft on Thursday.

The Sox have 39 players on the 40-man roster for the moment. That makes them eligible to select a player they could then spin off to another team.

The Sox have selected players for other clubs several times in recent years.

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Dombrowski thinks the Sox could lose a minor league player or two and acknowledged he could make a choice.

Staff changes

The Red Sox made a series of promotions and additions to their baseball operations staff.

Their international scouting department was replenished as Todd Claus was promoted to global scouting supervisor and Rolando Pino to coordinator of Latin American scouting.

Brett Ward will coordinate Pacific Rim operations and Adrian Lorenzo is assistant director of international scouting. James Kang will be an assistant with international scouting and Jon Cruz assistant supervisor in the Dominican Republic.

Harrison Slutsky was promoted to assistant director of pro scouting. Brandon Agamennone was hired as North Texas area scout. He had been with the Padres.

Mike Ganley was hired as senior baseball systems development lead. The WPI graduate founded 400Hitter.com, a stat service to amateur leagues.

Eric Edvalson will be the senior system developer and Ethan Faggett the assistant director of baseball systems.

Adrien Tapia was added to the mental skills staff.

High hopes

White Sox manager Rick Renteria said Yoan Moncada, who was acquired in the Sale trade, reminds him of Robinson Cano.

“I know that at 21 years of age, he still has a long way to go in terms of what he’s ultimately going to be. I think he’s a very talented human being who we hope is going to be an impact-type player,” Renteria said.

Moncada stuck out 12 times in 19 at-bats in eight major league games last season. But that was no concern to the White Sox.

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“They were coming down, finishing him off underneath the hands down and in,” Renteria said. “He’s a 21-year-old man who has not seen that type of bite coming from pitchers, and it’s probably changing the lane in which he’s looking for that particular type of slider where he’s got to get it out and away.

“He also has shown discipline. He walks. It’s one of those things where I think time will tell us, but I think there’s a look to him and there’s an action to him that I believe will generate change of that particular outcome in the future.”

Spreading the wealth

Red Sox players received $2.49 million in playoff money for reaching the Division Series. They awarded 61 full shares (worth $33,761.22), 10.68 partial shares, and 14 cash awards . . . Agent Scott Boras referred to shortstop Xander Bogaerts as a “very statured and unique player at his age.” As for a possible contract extension, Boras suggested asking the team. His response was similar regarding Jackie Bradley Jr. . . . Pablo Sandoval donated 48 holiday gifts to children from the Red Sox Foundation’s RBI program. They each received sneakers, a backpack, and a $100 gift card for groceries . . . David Price’s charitable foundation donated 8,000 toys to children via the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. Toys will be distributed at DCF locations in Holyoke, Leominster, New Bedford, and Pittsfield . . . Heath Hembree, Deven Marrero, and Robby Scott will visit with patients at Boston-area hospitals and children at a baseball and academic training academy as part of the team’s holiday caravan, which starts Thursday.

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