Approaching free agency, Jacoby Ellsbury doesn't believe the Red Sox will evaluate him with severe penalties for his past injuries.

"Zero," Ellsbury said. "They know how it happened. What I went through wasn't the result of me not being prepared or anything like that. Two contacts: One, I collided with a guy [Adrian Beltre]. The other I got cannonballed on [by Reid Brignac]. So, I put my body in the best shape every year to succeed at the highest level. That hasn't changed this year.

"It's not a nagging hamstring injury. It's not a nagging injury. … They were very happy how I came back. It's tough when you get hurt at the beginning of the season, after all the hard work you put in the offseason, and you're always trying to climb back.

"But [the Red Sox] know me the best, how hard I worked to get back as fast as possible. My teammates know that, too. I don't see it as an issue at all," he said.