BOSTON — David Ortiz never made the West Coast road trip.
The Red Sox slugger remained in Boston as he continued to
recover from a platelet-rich plasma injection he received late in August. Despite the shot — which
takes 10 days to take effect –manager Bobby Valentine is bracing for life
without Ortiz for the rest of the season.
“[General manager] Ben [Cherington] mentioned that
[it’s unlikely] to me the other day, I’m not sure that that’s the official word
yet,” Valentine said. “We’ll just prepare just in case he’s not going
to come back.”
Ortiz hasn’t played since Aug. 24, when he re-aggravated
his ailing Achilles injury rounding the bases. Before attempting that comeback,
the designated hitter had been sidelined since July 16.
Even if Ortiz were to return, he’d need additional
treatment over the offseason for the Achilles to fully heal. The 36-year-old
indicated that he would elect to undergo shockwave treatment.
Regardless of the direction, Valentine plans to evaluate
the situation with Ortiz’s long-term future in mind.
“It’s not really my call,” Valentine said.
“I mean, if he’s healthy and he loves to play the game of baseball, he
could always go out there and bat it around a little. I’d hate to jeopardize
his career, that’s for sure.”
Through 90 games this year, Ortiz has hit 23 home runs
to go along with 60 RBIs and a .318 batting average.
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