Kyle Schwarber is making good progress as far as Alex Cora is concerned.
Schwarber was traded to the Red Sox from the Washington Nationals just before the deadline, but a hamstring strain he suffered in early July has pushed off his Boston debut. The outfielder joined the Red Sox for a workout on Monday in Detroit, and Cora on Tuesday said things went well.
“(The trainers are) very pleased where he’s at strength-wise,” Cora told reporters before Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Tigers. “Now it’s just a matter of keep progressing, keep building up and then decide what we want to do. As far as rehab, we don’t have a timetable there, but I think things are progressing a lot better than we thought.”
Cora said Schwarber took batting practice against Tanner Houck, though he has yet to run the bases or sprint as he continues to recover. Still, Cora’s expectations for continued progress are high.
“He’s a strong individual,” Cora continued. “He’s been through stuff like this before. He’s a kid who tore his ACL and somehow, some way, he found his way to the World Series (in 2016 with the Chicago Cubs). You can trust him as far as the speed of the game and him taking care of himself in that aspect.”
It’s still unclear how exactly Schwarber will fit into Boston’s plans. He has played pretty much his entire career in left field, and while Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said he’ll get some reps at first base, Cora recently said he wasn’t ready to lock Schwarber into that spot.
Schwarber, meanwhile, said he is happy to play wherever the team needs him.
Wherever he lands upon his return, he’s bringing a .253 batting average and 25 home runs through the 2021 season, and that’s a welcome addition at any position.
