Shane Victorino to receive MRI on hamstring

Shane Victorino is set to receive an MRI on his right hamstring after it acted up during Saturday's spring training finale against the Minnesota Twins.

Victorino is all confidence, saying he'll be "ready to go," presumably for Opening Day. That's pretty status quo for Victorino, who has always been willing to play through aches and pains when possible. But until that scan comes back clean, there's a very real possibility that we're looking at the first test of Boston's outfield situation with Opening Day still on the horizon.

In the event that Victorino is not ready to go on Monday, the Red Sox will be faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to place him on the disabled list. With Jackie Bradley Jr. in the minors, every day Victorino misses is both another day that can't be used to rest Grady Sizemore, and another game with both Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes in the outfield together--a situation that is simply not tenable for any significant period of time given their poor defense and opposing platoon splits.

Of course, Jackie Bradley Jr. is just a phone call away--and indeed, he'll be ready to head to Baltimore on a moment's notice. But it's no small thing to place a starter on the disabled list, particularly if you buy into the idea of setting the tone early in the season. It's nice to have this sort of impressive depth, but we could see the costs of optioning Bradley pop up in a hurry.