TAMPA, Fla. — It isn’t often that a team’s fifth outfielder shows up for spring training and is immediately surrounded at his locker by a throng of reporters, all of whom are peppering him with questions about his role, his contract and his feelings.
Of course, not all fifth outfielders are the third highest-paid player on the team, with three years and $68 million remaining on a contract that includes a full no-trade clause.
So it was Sunday for Jacoby Ellsbury, who stood casually with a coffee cup in his hand and his foot on a chair, parrying away any inquiries that called for introspection.