Alex Cora hopes Red Sox can turn the page ahead of first full-team practice in 2023

The 2022 season has been a season to forget for the Red Sox.

They went 78-84 to finish last in the AL East as they hit several lows in the second half of the season. But that’s now a thing of the past as Monday will be the Red Sox’s first full-team practice of the 2023 season.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters on Sunday that he expects everyone to be there on Monday. So what will Cora’s message be to the band as they look to put last season behind them?

“It starts with being better. This is the most important thing. We just have to be better,” Cora said. “We finished last and we know it. But at the same time, it’s a different group. One thing about the band, they really don’t care what happened here last year or the year before or 2018. They can make fun of these guys.

“It’s a new season. There are a lot of good things happening right now. We try to connect of course in the clubhouse, off the field and all that. It’s going to take some time, but so far so good.

Monday’s full-team practice comes just under a week after pitchers and receivers began spring training workouts in Fort Myers, Fla., on Wednesday.

Cora said it’s already been “a great week” with the players they’ve had at Fenway South so far.

“We’re here to get better and play better baseball,” Cora said. “We have the right attitude. I think I mentioned it this morning. If you choose one word to describe what happened this week, it’s professionalism. There were no complaints, no talks about contracts or anything.

There has been a lot of contract talk surrounding the Red Sox this offseason. They let several players walk in free agency, including Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi, while adding 10 players from outside the organization to their roster of 40 players.

That’s a lot of new players to throw into the mix, especially considering that 12 Red Sox players will be leaving camp in early March to play in the World Baseball Classic.

Cora isn’t too concerned about that, noting that there have been a lot of changes with league teams over the past few seasons.

“It will remove [bonding time] but in the game we play and in the business we live in – the 2017 [Houston Astros] the champions had only three players last year [Astros] crew. We have three players [from 2018} on the roster. Tell me how many [players from their 2019 World Series team] are on the Nationals right now. THE [2020] Dodgers, we have four of these guys on our team right now.

“It’s part of the business. They understand that,” Cora added. “I think it’s a lot easier these days with that, guys playing everywhere. But we’re going to maximize the time they’re going to be here.

Young pitcher Brayan Bello, who was shut down Friday with forearm pain, will also pitch Monday.

“He will be ready for tomorrow, we will know more tomorrow,” Cora said. “So far so good. He’s getting better. Until he kicks off, we won’t know. We’re optimistic he’ll be fine.