BOSTON — Manager Alex Cora’s ability to successfully juggle the Red Sox lineup through the season’s first month comes down to the flexibility of two players in particular.

J.D. Martinez and Hanley Ramirez have been the keys for Boston, with both offering the position the versatility that allows Cora to keep his regulars fresh and his reserves sharp. Martinez and Ramirez have split the designated hitter role while also playing the outfield and first base, [...]

Bill Koch

BOSTON — Manager Alex Cora’s ability to successfully juggle the Red Sox lineup through the season’s first month comes down to the flexibility of two players in particular.

“(Ramirez) playing first base and J.D. playing the outfield, that’s been huge for us,” Cora said.

Martinez was signed mostly as an extra power bat in the lineup, but he’s done enough to avoid being a liability through 11 starts between left and right field. He made a fine running catch in deep right center to keep the Blue Jays from doing significant damage in the bottom of the first inning on Thursday night, robbing Lourdes Gurriel of extra bases as the Red Sox closed their road trip with a 5-4 win.

“I was playing in just trying to protect a little bleeder,” Martinez said. “He put some good wood [on it] and I turned around and ran just as fast as I could and caught up to it.”

“Coming into the season a lot of people thought he was going to be a DH and play left field once a week,” Cora said. “For him to play left field two or three times a week, that’s huge for us.”

Ramirez has started 13 games at first base this season, nearly equaling the 17 he made at the position in 2017. Offseason left shoulder surgery had Ramirez feeling confident and healthy going into spring training, as did a face-to-face discussion with Cora in Miami soon after the manager’s hiring.

“That was the plan all along,” Cora said. “I do feel this guy, he has a lot in the tank. He can change the game, and he’s doing it so far.”

Mitch Moreland made his 12th start of the season at first base on Friday against the Rays, splitting the 25 games to date with Ramirez. Andrew Benintendi received the day off against Tampa Bay left-hander Blake Snell.

Taking the next step

Soaking rains until about an hour before the scheduled first pitch on Friday night prevented Tyler Thornburg (right shoulder) from taking the next step in his rehab.

The right-handed reliever is here at Fenway Park this weekend after a lengthy stint of extended spring training in Fort Myers. Thornburg threw a bullpen session instead of live batting practice on the field, with both teams opting to remain indoors due to the showers that started just after noon.

“He’s in good spirits,” Cora said. “It’s good for him to be here, to get away from Fort Myers and be here in this atmosphere.”

Thornburg is likely to throw on the field at some point this weekend, with a minor-league assignment next on his schedule.

Also progressing

Eduardo Nunez and Tzu-Wei Lin are the prime options to fill in for Brock Holt (left hamstring strain), who was placed on the disabled list on Friday.

It was another Red Sox infielder who was an option early last season, one who continues his return from a second left shoulder surgery last year. Marco Hernandez was with the team in Toronto, working out on the field and continuing his slow progress from a subluxation that cost him almost all of the 2017 campaign. Hernandez had a follow-up procedure performed in February and isn’t close to beginning a minor-league assignment.

“For how upbeat he is about his rehab and all that, he’s a little bit down, too,” Cora said. “He feels that he was going to be part of what we’re trying to do right now. Slowly but surely, he’s coming around.”

— bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25

Red Sox Journal: Plenty of lineup options, thanks to Ramirez, Martinez