Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo is having a great start to the 2023 season, and manager Alex Cora reportedly challenged him to take a step in his career at the end of the 2022 season, which lit a fire again for Verdugo, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

“I should have just stayed on top of my routine a little bit better, and did more things, treatment-wise, for injuries I was dealing with,” Alex Verdugo said, via Rosenthal. “I was like, I’ve got to focus more on the game. I didn’t really (address) how are you preventing this from happening again. Now I have a shoulder program, a core program, certain things I have to do. I make sure we do ’em 4-5 times a week, at least.”

Alex Cora’s challenge resulted in Verdugo becoming more diligent during the season regarding taking care of his body, according to Rosenthal. He played last season with and impingement and rotator-cuff inflammation in his left shoulder that prevented him from driving through the ball. Verdugo admitted that the problem resulted from straying from his shoulder maintenance program. Now, Verdugo is healthy and producing.

Verdugo is batting .317 with a .386 on-base percentage and five home runs, according to Fangraphs. The Red Sox did not come into this season with high expectations, but they have played well as of late, and Verdugo is a big part of that. The American League East is very competitive, with every team over .500 at this point, and the Red Sox need Verdugo to continue producing for the rest of the season.