The Boston Red Sox Monday, March 6, 2017 * The Boston Globe Catcher Sandy Leon is taking nothing for granted Peter Abraham FORT MYERS, Fla. — Sandy Leon has been demoted to the minor leagues more times than he can remember. “Five times,” the Red Sox catcher said. “Maybe six. I’m not sure. It happened a lot.” When Leon ran out of minor league options with the Washington Nationals in 2015, they sold him to the Red Sox a week before the season began. The Red Sox designated Leon for assignment in July and again in November that year. He cleared waivers both times, the 29 other teams passing on him. That allowed the Red Sox to send him to Triple A Pawtucket. It wasn’t until midway through last season that Leon became an established starter in the majors. He hit .310 over 78 games with an .845 OPS and started all three games in the playoffs. “I’m not sure we make the postseason without him,” said Rick Porcello, who won the American League Cy Young Award with Leon catching 15 of his starts. “Sandy had a great season.” For the first time in his career, Leon arrived at spring training secure in the knowledge that he had a place on the team. Right? “I don’t know how to think that way,” Leon said before the Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves, 11-1, on Sunday. “Nothing is guaranteed. I have feel like I have to give 100 percent and see what happens.” Leon, who turns 28 later this month, was invited to play in the World Baseball Classic by two teams. Venezuela, his homeland, asked Leon to play as did Colombia, the birthplace of his wife, Liliana. He turned both nations down. He didn’t want to assume anything with the Red Sox. “It would have been a great honor to play for my country, or to play for Colombia and honor my wife,” Leon said. “But I felt it was important to be here. I have to get ready for Opening Day. That is my job. Keep playing hard, keep working. I just wanted to do what I have been doing.” The Red Sox have strong backup catchers in Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart. Both are capable of wrestling the job away from Leon and have the advantage of being drafted and developed by the organization. Both players have supporters within the organization. But Leon doesn’t view them as competition in a traditional sense. “I’m not here to beat out one guy or another guy,” he said. “As a catcher, you have to work with everybody and do your best. Whatever happens, I want to say I played hard. It’s not me against somebody else, it’s each of us trying to be the best catcher we can be.” Sox manager John Farrell has yet to notice any change in how Leon has approached his job from previous seasons when his career was on the line. “He’s had to battle through a number of things — off the roster, on the roster, out of options, being traded,” the manager said. “I don’t think he takes a lot of things for granted. He’s grateful for whatever he’s been able to achieve so far, and he’s fully engaged with every guy he’s handled on the mound. All systems go.” Leon is a trusted defensive catcher, Farrell crediting his presence as one of the major factors in Red Sox pitchers dropping their earned run average from 4.43 before the All-Star break to 3.50 after. His game-calling skills, ability to work with the pitchers, and durability became counted on over the final months as the Sox secured the American League East championship. The concern is that Leon was 12 of 73 (.164) in his final 23 games, counting the playoffs. He struck out in 37 percent of his at-bats and had only three extra-base hits. Leon looked worn out, and understandably so. He played 53 games of winter ball in Venezuela before the season followed by 36 games for Triple A Pawtucket and 78 for the Red Sox. “I did play a lot last season,” Leon said. “My body felt fine, but I went through some things. I expanded the strike zone because I got excited and tried to do too much. I felt good, but I was swinging at bad pitches. Every hitter goes through that.” Said Farrell: “I think it was a combination. As much as he expanded the strike zone, that’s fatigue related as he tried to get started earlier against velocity. He was chasing up [in the strike zone]. Then teams fed him a heavy dose of off-speed.” Leon played only four games of winter ball this year and came to camp feeling strong. “I wanted to play some more, but maybe that was for the best,” he said. He will be on the travel squad to West Palm Beach on Monday to catch Chris Sale in his spring training debut. Sale reported to camp in the first week of February and has been building up methodically since. “It’s fun when you can catch those kind of guys,” Leon said. “One of the reasons I wanted to stay here and not play in the WBC was to get on the same page as Sale. I wanted to learn him. That has been very good. “Sale just wants to win. He’s a great pitcher, but all he talks about is winning. He can win with his fastball but he has a plus-breaking ball and he has a funky delivery. He’s going to be great for our team. Hopefully he helps get to the World Series this season. That is what I want to do next.” Red Sox plate eight in the seventh inning vs. Braves Peter Abraham SCORE: Red Sox 11, Braves 1 RECORD: 4-6 BREAKDOWN: The Sox won for the third time in four games, breaking open a 3-1 game with eight runs in the seventh inning. Allen Craig had a two-run single in the inning, and minor leaguer Tzu-Wei Lin a two-run double. The Sox sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning. Veteran righthander Kyle Kendrick, in camp on a minor league contract, threw four no-hit innings, walking one and striking out one. “He pitched to contact, put the ball on the ground. That’s when he’s at his best,” manager John Farrell said. “He’s been as advertised.” THUMBS UP: Catcher Christian Vazquez made what was perhaps his best throw since having Tommy John surgery in 2015, a laser to second base about a foot over the bag to get Micah Johnson trying to steal second base in the first inning. Vazquez also picked Austin Riley off first base in the third inning, but umpire Brian O’Nora missed the call. “The carry and accuracy is approaching pre-surgery,” Farrell said. “A very good day for Christian defensively.” THUMBS DOWN: Facing what was essentially a minor league lineup, lefthander Robbie Ross Jr. allowed a run on two hits and a walk in the sixth inning. MEDICAL REPORT: Outside of David Price (left elbow), none of the players are sidelined. AROUND THE BASES: Andrew Benintendi was 5 for 5 against the Braves this spring before he was robbed of a hit in the third inning when Johnson made a diving catch in center field . Dustin Pedroia has played in four games but has only eight at-bats. That has been by design because of the longer spring training. He is 4 for 8 with a double and three runs scored . Farrell was enthused about Heath Hembree, who struck out three in the fifth inning . The Sox have scored 42 runs in their last four games. NEXT GAME: The Sox start a three-game road trip on Monday with the first of two games at the new Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. They play the Astros at 1:05 p.m. The game will be on WEEI-AM (850). Chris Sale faces Chris Devinski. Spring training lineups are a delicate balance Peter Abraham FORT MYERS, Fla. — For John Farrell and other managers, the challenge of spring training is finding the balance between preparing for the season and providing a suitable product on the field. The Red Sox, as an example, are in the middle of a schedule that includes six games in six days in five Florida cities. Fielding representative teams while not unnecessarily wearing out players requires extensive planning. “This is our vehicle to get players ready physically,” Farrell said. “And yet you walk in [to the ballpark], and there’s 11,000 people. There’s this conflict of big business and getting players ready.” Teams are required to use at least four “regulars” in spring training lineups. That guideline is often stretched for the sake of keeping players healthy. It’s more of an issue in Florida, where bus trips of 2-3 hours are common, than in Arizona. “There’s a lot more to balance now than there was [years ago]. No more chemicals,” said Farrell, referring to baseball including amphetamines in its drug-testing program. “You’re trying to take care of bodies and their physical condition and keeping them fresh. There’s a lot more asked of a player today than maybe before with no artificial way to maintain the performance level.” The Price plan Sunday marked Price’s fifth consecutive day without throwing.