Stolmy Pimentel Still Few Days Away From Throwing, Wants to Impress Bobby Valentine

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Stolmy Pimentel suffered a slight setback Monday, straining his lat muscle during a bullpen session.

But the right-handed pitcher appeared more optimistic about his progress Thursday and intends to return to throwing shortly.

"I feel a lot a better and I'm doing the treatment and everything, so I should be practicing again pretty soon," Pimentel said. "They'll give me a pair of days to come back and then I'll practice again."

In stints with Salem and Portland last season, the 22-year-old posted a 6-13 record with a 6.79 ERA in 25 starts. As a result of those numbers, Pimentel is antsy to return and show his worth to Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine.

"It's important to give him a good first impression," Pimentel said. "But since I'm a little banged up right now, I hope to do a good job when I come back and show [Valentine] what I can do."

Have a question for Didier Morais? Send it to him via Twitter at @DidierMorais or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.