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FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Takeaways from the Fort on Day 10 of Red Sox camp: Is Allen Craig trade bait? If so, the market soon could be trending up. Manager John Farrell said Sunday that Craig is showing “much more life in the bat” and looking physically strong after battling a left foot Lisfranc injury in 2014 and hitting just .128 for the Red Sox following the trade that sent John Lackey to the Cardinals. “The foot’s not an issue at this point and we don’t anticipate it to be,” Farrell said. “You just see increased core strength and better bat speed. And I know it’s just BP, but he looks different than when we got him. Let’s face it: The shock of the trade is in the rear-view mirror more so now than when he came to us.” Of course, if you’re a cynic, the only sensible thing for Farrell to do would be to serve up a glowing early report. • Farrell lauded new third baseman Pablo Sandoval for his work in helping younger players. “He takes pride in that,” Farrell said. “It’s been refreshing in a way that he asks that it’s OK for him to impart some of the things he’s been taught to younger guys. You only get reports on an individual before they get to you, but when you interact with a guy -- in Pablo’s case daily -- you recognize he cares about his teammates, he cares about the way the game is played, in addition to being a very talented guy. So that has been above and beyond what we had anticipated.” Said Sandoval, “The coaching staff lets me teach what I’ve learned so far because the things inside the game, I have great communication with this staff and with people. It’s one of the things that makes us a better team.” Sandoval has said he feels like he’s been able to fit in well because of similarities in the organizational and clubhouse cultures between the Red Sox and his old team, the Giants. Asked about that, Farrell said, “When you win a World Series as frequently as they have, or even as frequently as we have, it goes above and beyond the talent on a roster. There’s got to be a cohesiveness, there’s got to be a feeling inside a clubhouse that there’s unity, there’s the feeling that you’ve got one another’s back to pick up a guy on a day when he might need it. I don’t know (Giants manager) Bruce Bochy’s style, but clearly it’s been a very successful one. Seemingly leaders emerge in his clubhouse and they carry out his message. I would like to think there are quite a few similarities here.” There might be similarities, but Sandoval did offer than the Red Sox clubhouse is “more loose, more fun.” • Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who worked out for about four hours a day during the winter in Arizona, said his goal was to gain a lot of muscle because he felt he wore down last season, leading to a .240 batting average -- and just a .153 mark with runners in scoring position. Farrell said he has noticed better carry on the balls Bogaerts is hitting in batting practice, but the bigger difference is in the field. “His first-step quickness is improved over a year ago,” Farrell said. “Part of that is anticipation, but part of that is the condition he’s come to camp in.” • Farrell said reliever Edward Mujica is 15 pounds lighter than he was a year ago, and it’s apparent in his bullpen and batting-practice sessions. “The arm speed is quicker,” Farrell said. “Whether or not that translates into velocity, we’ll see. But it’s not uncommon for relievers to go through a heavy workload one year and maybe (a lack of velocity) showed up the following year. “There was a little bit less velocity early in the year (in 2014), so he used his slider a little bit more, where in the past everything worked off his fastball more predominantly, so he just had to adjust to make the most of his stuff on a given day.” • Minnie Minoso, who died Sunday at age 90, was a hero to Latin American baseball players and helped create the pathway to the United States. Minoso was born in La Habana, Cuba, and made his MLB debut in 1949. Red Sox pitching advisor and Cuba native Luis Tiant talked about Minoso’s influence in 2011: “In the Latino culture, especially Cuba, Minnie Minoso was the biggest thing in the sport. I wanted to be just like him, and when I look at him now, I still want to be like him. I am so grateful for what he did for us." • Farrell said the Red Sox will work out Wednesday on their off day after Tuesday’s games against Boston College and Northeastern, adding that March 25 is the team’s mandated off day during spring training. • Farrell said outfielder Bryce Brentz (right knee) has been improving and will be ready for Tuesday’s games. Brock Holt also is ready after fouling a ball of his right big toe and undergoing tests, which were negative. • Pitchers were announced for Friday’s Grapefruit League home opener against the Marlins at JetBlue Park: Justin Masterson, Henry Owens, Koji Uehara, Miguel Celestino and Felipe Paulino.
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