“There’s still work to do,” manager Alex Cora said before Boston’s game against the Astros on Friday. “He’s still a work in progress. He’s gotten better. The numbers show that. There’s a few things under the hood that we still need to get better at.” Cora said there are areas, both offensively and defensively, where he must improve.

Alex Cora was in the Fenway Park offices for the trade deadline on Thursday, and he believes the two deals the club made will help the team contend down the stretch.