Hanley Ramirez’s injured hand forced him to miss a fifth consecutive game Monday night, but a return to action should come sooner rather than later for the Boston Red Sox left fielder.
An MRI on Ramirez’s hand on Monday revealed only a bad bruise, manager John Farrell told reporters in Toronto. Farrell added that he hopes to have Ramirez back in the lineup at some point during the Red Sox’s four-game series against the Blue Jays.
“The optimistic view is that he’d be back in the lineup while we’re here in Toronto,” Farrell said, via the Boston Herald. “More than anything, a little peace of mind that structurally he’s good allows him to move through the hitting progression.”
Ramirez suffered the injury when he was hit by a Xander Bogaerts line drive while running the basepaths during last Wednesday’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. He has not played since and initially did not travel with the team to Toronto.
But after the MRI on Monday showed no structural damage, Ramirez boarded a plane and headed for Rogers Center.
“We’re hopeful he has a bat in his hand (Monday night)Â when he gets back here — in the cage, obviously,” Farrell said, via the Herald. “That doesn’t make him available (Monday night), but hopefully in the coming days, that goes as we anticipate.”
Before going down, Ramirez had recorded hits in five consecutive games and collected nine hits total over that span. He’s hitting .283 with a team-high 15 home runs and 38 RBIs this season.
Thumbnail photo via Peter G. Aiken/USA TODAY Sports Images
