Jacoby Ellsbury — weirdly enough, three months to the day after suffering a subluxation of his right shoulder and on the next Friday the 13th to come along on the calendar — is set to return to the lineup Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, while Carl Crawford is penciled in to complete his comeback from wrist and elbow injuries on Monday night against the Chicago White Sox.
It’s sure to be a welcome sign for Boston, who sit at 43-43 going into the second half of the season. But questions remain — where will Ellsbury bat? Can the addition of these two catalysts back into the lineup re-energize the rest of the offense? Can Crawford’s elbow hold up despite possibly needing Tommy John surgery?
NESN.com MLB writer Didier Morais was available on Twitter on Friday to answer these and other questions, such as if Pedro Ciriaco has vaulted himself ahead of Jose Iglesias in the “shortstop of the future” discussion, what Lars Anderson‘s future with the organization is and if the Red Sox should be expected to pull off a blockbuster trade for Felix Hernandez.
Fans were able to participate using the hashtag #NESNlive, so check out the conversation for yourself below.
[View the story “Red Sox Ready to Welcome Back Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford” on Storify]
