SARASOTA, Fla. — Christian Vazquez has been fighting an uphill battle all spring training in his return from Tommy John surgery. And while he climbed farther and faster than Red Sox manager John Farrell could have expected, considering the cannon-armed catcher is still less than a year removed from the elbow procedure, Vazquez remains a longshot to make the Opening Day roster.

“It would be a stretch for Opening Day,” Farrell said. “By the time we break camp we will have gotten him out to nine innings. So if it’s not Opening Day, he’s making strides to get to there. Again, much like we talk about (Hanley Ramirez’) transition to first base, Christian, where he’s at, I don’t know we could’ve drawn it up any better how much work he’s gotten in, the repetition and the innings caught behind the plate.”

Vazquez will likely start the season with Triple-A Pawtucket, but the Sox don’t expect to make that decision until tomorrow, at the earliest.

“That’s all to be determined,” Farrell said. “More importantly, he’s showing us he’s getting game ready. The only thing we have to determine is how many times a week and how deep into each of those outings do we run him.”

The news all but assures Blake Swihart of being the Opening Day catcher. Swihart hit .330 over his last 24 games of the 2015 season but remains a few notches behind Vazquez in his defensive capabilities.

With Vazquez shelved in 2015, Ryan Hanigan and Swihart formed the catching tandem. Sandy Leon also saw time behind the plate and remains in the organization.

Sandoval works out

In this case, Pablo Sandoval was a quick healer.

The third baseman was originally expected to need extended rest after he hurt his back diving for a gound ball in an exhibition game Tuesday. But Sandoval had already started to take grounders again in Fort Myers, and he jumped back into the batting cage to take some swings yesterday.

Farrell said Sandoval could return to Grapefruit League game action as soon as tomorrow or Tuesday.

“The last two days have been marked improvement for Panda,” Farrell said. “And how he checks out (today) will probably give us better indication of when he gets back in the game. More than anything, the range of motion has returned. Most if not all the stiffness has been worked out of there.” . . .

David Murphy, hitting .281 this spring, can opt out of his contract if the Sox don’t add the outfielder to the roster today. Murphy signed a minor league deal earlier this month to return to the ballclub that drafted him in the first round in 2003.

“I’m interested in winning a World Series,” Murphy said. “And you can’t do that in the minor leagues.”

In addition to Murphy, the outfield crowd includes Jackie Bradley Jr., Mookie Betts, Chris Young, Rusney Castillo and utility man Brock Holt. With the way Murphy has been used sparingly in recent days, including as the DH in yesterday’s 16-8 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, it doesn’t appear as though the team is leaning toward keeping him.

“I had two at-bats in five or six days,” Murphy said. “We didn’t have an off day and we had all those East Coast trips. Does that mean that they’ve seen me plenty? Or does that mean that they needed to get other guys at-bats? That’s kind of the only indicator. But still, even with that, I don’t know if I’m leaning one way or the other. It’ll be good to have some clarity.”

Murphy said he’s considering retirement if he doesn’t land a major league job.

Bradley cuts loose

Bradley hasn’t found himself in too many 3-0 counts during his major league career. Against Orioles starter Yovani Gallardo in the second inning, Bradley got the green light.

The result: The center fielder sliced the ball over the left field fence for an opposite-field home run.

“If he hits home runs,” Farrell said when asked if he’d consider letting Bradley swing away during the regular season at 3-0. “It’s pretty simple, right?”

In the majors, Bradley has taken ball four on a 3-0 count 15 times. He has taken a strike 33 times and eventually gets on base in 79 percent of those situations — but he has never taken a swing at 3-0.

“They tell us that in spring training you want to get the feel of swinging the bat,” Bradley said. “You’re seeing some pitches and they want you to be aggressive with your pitch and try to take advantage of it. I just wanted to see what it felt like to swing 3-0. It’s a good feeling. I don’t really get the green light much . . . hopefully it continues.”

For the spring, Bradley is hitting .378 with two doubles, two homers, four walks, seven strikeouts and a 1.034 OPS.

“Jackie has gone along and had a very strong spring training,” Farrell said. “I think he’s back to his swing he was signed with. I think he understands himself more as a hitter as he’s gone along. He’s handled left-handers, right-handers. He’s in a good place. He carries himself with a lot more confidence over the last 8-12 months. It’s been good to see.”