Before Wednesday night’s game against the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora provided updates on three of Boston’s injured players.
“His rehab process, obviously he’s not pitching every day. He hasn’t gone back to back. We haven’t used him yet with traffic on the bases,” Cora said before Wednesday night’s game, via WEEI’s Ryan Hannable. “The feedback is good. The fastball is there. Breaking ball is getting better. Slowly but surely he’s getting where we want him to be. When he passes all those hurdles, we’ll make a decision.”
Another pitching decision Cora will have to make is how he will utilize Steven Wright, who, as of Wednesday, has five games remaining on his 15-game suspension. He’s made one appearance for the Triple-A Pawtucket, where he tossed six innings of run-one ball out of the bullpen. Wright has not appeared in an MLB contest since April 29, 2017, due to a knee injury.
Cora also provided an update on Dustin Pedroia, who’s recovering from offseason knee surgery. The second baseman has been playing in an extended spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., but the Sox skipper would not give a timetable as to when he would begin a rehab assignment.
“He’s playing tomorrow,” Cora said per Hannable. “Five innings, three at-bats, then we go from there.”
Cora will have plenty of decisions to make regarding the roster when the three injured players make their return to the Sox, so there likely will be some lineup shuffling over the coming weeks.
