Bonser, placed on the disabled list with a groin strain on March 26, has been recalled from his minor league rehab assignment, and all signs point to his imminent return, the Providence Journal reports.
While there is no official timetable for his activation, Bonser hopes to be back with the team Monday.
“Oh yeah, absolutely. A team picks you up in the offseason, you expect to be with them,” Bonser told the Providence Journal. “Hopefully, I’m up there with them Monday. That’s all I want.”
In his final minor league appearance, Bonser had an effective outing, pitching one scoreless inning.
“He threw well [Saturday] night,” manager Terry Francona said. “I think he only threw eight, nine, 10 pitches. He threw real well.”
As Bonser works back from shoulder surgery in February 2009, his velocity has been a question mark. However, in his one-inning rehab stint, Bonser picked up the speed of his fastball to 95 mph from its usual range of 92-94 mph.
“It played up for the inning, which I think everyone hoped it would,” Francona said. “You see that a lot. We saw that in the past with him, when he was out of the bullpen.”
In other comeback news, outfielder Mike Cameron was back in the lineup on Sunday, for the first time since May 30.
Cameron reached base three times, scored the tying run after leading off the ninth with a single, and made an acrobatic grab in center field, robbing the Orioles’ Lou Montanez of what would have been a walk-off hit in the ninth.
“Great catch,” Francona told the Boston Globe. “He looked really healthy. And again, I know he’s probably feeling it a little bit. We kept checking with him as the game went on, just to see if we pinch-hit for this guy … make sure Cam’s OK. But he went and got that guy pretty well.”
Despite playing well, surgery may be looming for Cameron. When asked about it, Cameron said, “That could be down the road, but I can’t really be concerned with it. I’m happy about the opportunity that I’m getting today. That’s one bridge we’ll cross when we get to it.”
Pitcher Manny Delcarmen experienced back pain in Sunday’s relief appearance, and that’s been a problem for a couple of weeks now.
“His lower back’s stiff,” Francona told the Globe. “It’s the same thing he’s dealt with on and off. We’ll see. Looked like it was hard for him to drive the ball down in the zone. We’ll check him out.”
Delcarmen said he felt a “little stinger” every time he threw a pitch, but after postgame massage treatment, he was feeling fine.
“I felt good warming up, confident going in the game,” Delcarmen told the Globe. “I haven’t been that off this year with the fastball up in the zone like that. Hopefully, [with] treatment and the next couple days, I should be good.”
Jeremy Hermida is feeling better after his collision with Adrian Beltre on Friday, though his ribs and chest are still sore. Meanwhile, Beltre was back in the lineup Sunday after a day off to rest a bruised left knee.
David Ortiz was hit on the back of his left hand by a Mark Hendrickson pitch in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game. Though Ortiz looked to be in pain, he stayed in the game, the Globe reports.
Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury remains on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his ribs. He has been swinging off a tee and was expected to practice in the batting cage over the weekend.
Starter Josh Beckett likely won’t resume any baseball activities until the end of the series with the Indians, at the earliest, due to a lower back strain.
Relief pitcher Scott Atchison was sent back to the minors to make room for the returning Bonser. Atchison has traveled between Pawtucket and Boston often this season, and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in nine games.
