FORT MYERS, Fla. — You can tell Craig Kimbrel has a heavy heart when it comes to looking after his 3-month-old daughter, Lydia Joy, who will undergo a heart procedure at the end of the month. Kimbrel said he will miss a few days of camp when the surgery occurs, but for now he’s focusing on his free agent year with the Red Sox and all that it may bring.

Lydia Joy had her first surgery four days into her life. There are things completely out of his control, but Kimbrel takes refuge from the everyday angst and frustration in baseball.

He expects, as per his conversations with new manager Alex Cora, that he may be used in some high-leverage, non-save situations, something John Farrell wanted to do with him last season. It’s a tricky process since Kimbrel will be a free agent after the season and saves are important to his earning power for next offseason.

Kimbrel said he’s not thinking about free agency quite yet. He said he would like to remain with the Red Sox, but at this point there have not been discussions toward that end.

Kimbrel had a near historic season in 2017, striking out nearly 50 percent of the batters he faced (126 of 254).

“I think I’ll be used in positions I need to be used in, closing a lot of games and getting us out of some tough spots when I need to,’’ Kimbrel said.

While the reliever market this offseason has been robust, especially for setup men, Kimbrel said “it’s hard not to be aware of [the slow free agent market]. It’s raised eyebrows with a lot of guys. It gives you a better understanding how this business works. It’s brought awareness to a lot of guys.

“I’d like to [return to the Red Sox]. I’ve enjoyed my time here in Boston. I’ve been part of two winning teams and hopefully three. You never know where life will lead you. I’ve learned that a lot this offseason with my daughter. Right now I’m a Boston Red Sox. I’m happy to be a Boston Red Sox and looking forward to this year.’’

He said he was fine with his workload last season (69 innings in 67 appearances).

“It was good,’’ he said. “At times in any season you go through stretches when you throw a lot and stretches when you fight to get into a game. Take it for what it is and get ready to go every day.’’

Kimbrel was asked how he deals with his daughter’s illness while getting ready for the season.

“I love baseball, but I also love my family,’’ he said. “When I take myself away [from home], I’m here to work, I’m here to focus and try to get better. When I leave the ballpark my heart and my mind are definitely at home, but God gave me this ability to hopefully change other peoples’ lives and change my family’s lives. It’s tough. God has a plan for us. Got to trust him.’’

Overall, he said, Lydia Joy is “doing great. The doctors [at Children’s Hospital] have been amazing, very encouraging. There’s a plan for everything. You want to be there and do everything you can, but you have to step back and trust the doctors and doing what we can. We take care of her and feed her and be normal parents, even though she’s going through a lot. There’s a lot of children going through a lot. All we can do is take care of her the best we can and trust what the doctors’ plan is for her.’’

Nunez pays a visit

At a time when Eduardo Nunez may be close to rejoining the Red Sox, the free agent was at the team’s spring training facility on Saturday afternoon. The infielder, who hit .321/.353/.539 with eight homers in 38 games for the Red Sox after being acquired from the Giants in a late July trade, said that a deal wasn’t final.

“We’re just trying to figure out what’s going on,’’ Nunez said as he left JetBlue Park. “I just came here to visit with my friends, to visit with my teammates. [The Red Sox will] let you know when we have something.’’

That said, Nunez made clear that he would like to return to the team with whom he finished the 2017 season.

“For sure,’’ he said, suggesting that he entered the offseason hopeful that he could find common ground for a return to the Red Sox. “[The time in Boston] was great, great. A great experience.’’

While the Red Sox and Nunez appear to be working on a deal that would bring the player back on a one-year deal with an option, his return is dependent upon the 30-year-old first passing a physical and demonstrating that the PCL strain in his right knee — which limited him to just two games after Sept. 9 — is no longer a limitation.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski declined to comment on whether Nunez had taken or passed a physical.

Abreu door not closed

The Red Sox have been exploring ways other than through free agency to get a middle-of-the-order bat and they have seemingly not given up the possibility of trading for Jose Abreu.

While sources from the White Sox and Red Sox indicate there hasn’t been movement from the original discussions the teams had, with the White Sox asking for a big haul, the Red Sox have “kept their foot in the door’’ and haven’t closed out the possibility of trying to land Abreu. The consensus among White Sox brass is that the first baseman will be around until at least the trading deadline.

For and against

Cora had a nice chat with Yankees manager Aaron Boone Thursday at Tropicana Field in Tampa, where they met for a managers conference and dinner with commissioner Rob Manfred. Cora and Boone were coworkers at ESPN for a few years and created a bond there.

“We talked mostly about scheduling,’’ Cora said of Thursday’s meeting. “In this job, scheduling is very important. I know the Yankees are starting workouts later [in the day] and a few teams have done that. I’d almost rather go the other way because guys are here so early.’’

Teams are opting to work out later to let their players get more sleep. But Cora said the later it gets, the hotter it gets, and he doesn’t want to wear out his players that way.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickcafardo. Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on twitter at @alexspeier.