When Josh Reddick was traded to Oakland, it was supposed to accelerate Ryan Kalish‘s ascension to the majors. But the 23-year-old’s return to the Red Sox’s outfield may be delayed once again.
After having neck surgery in the fall, Kalish told the Boston Globe on Thursday that he underwent a procedure for a torn labrum in his left shoulder on Nov. 8. Kalish said that he didn’t expect to be ready in time for spring training and anticipated the timetable for his return was approximately May or June.
“It’s not the easiest rehab in the world and we’re only a few weeks into it,” Kalish told the Globe. “I’m working to get my range of motion back and we’ll go from there. Nobody has told me a timetable, but I know it will be a while.”
Kalish initially suffered a shoulder injury last April when he dove for a ball in Triple-A Pawtucket. Due to the injury, he missed a significant portion of the season and was limited to 24 games — two of them for Lowell. He had just 11 RBIs and no homers over that span.
When Kalish returned to the diamond, the aftermath of the injury still triggered pain in his neck. After neck surgery, he realized the problems with his shoulder continued to persist.
“I had to get it done,” Kalish said. “I could have tried to play and probably could have. But eventually I was going to need it. I just wanted to get everything fixed and get back to being myself.”
Once Reddick was traded, general manager Ben Cherington mentioned that Mike Aviles, Darnell McDonald and newly-acquired Ryan Sweeney would contend for the opening in right field. Kalish was the favorite to eventually inherit the job down the road.
During 53 games with the Red Sox in 2010, he showed glimpses of talent, clubbing four home runs and 24 RBIs for Boston.
