Jason Varitek can finally play baseball again.
The Red Sox' captain, on the 15-day disabled list since July 2 with a broken right foot, was cleared by team doctors Saturday to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket.
Varitek is expected to catch four or five innings against Syracuse at McCoy Stadium and then will likely serve as the designated hitter Monday, which happens to be the last game of the regular season for the PawSox.
If all goes well the 38-year-old will return during the Tampa Bay series on the back end of Boston's current six-game homestand.
Varitek was batting .263 with seven homers and 16 RBIs when he went down with the injury. He still leads the team with a ratio of one home run for every 13.6 at-bats.
