Kyle Schwarber is in a good spot, according to Red Sox manager Alex Cora.
The outfielder, who came to Boston on Thursday from the Washington Nationals, brings a powerful bat and the potential to build up the team’s arsenal at first base — a position he has pretty much never played but is open to learning at the urging of chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.
But all of that is still in limbo as he recovers from a hamstring strain he suffered at the start of July. Cora had a positive update on the seven-year veteran before Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“He feels good,” he said. “The medical staff, they feel good. They feel like what they did with him with the Nationals put him in a good situation. We’re not talking about being active in the upcoming days … The progress has been great. We’re hoping that he goes on a rehab assignment sooner rather than later and he’ll be with us sooner rather than later.”
He added that Schwarber worked out for the team at first base on Saturday, and he’ll join the team on the upcoming road trip to Detroit.
On Monday, he’s set to attend a workout with a group that will also include Marwin Gonzalez, who has yet to return from a hamstring strain that landed him on the injured list retroactive to July 13.
While there’s no definite timeline for Schwarber’s arrival, it sounds like he’s taking all the right steps in his recovery. And with ace Chris Sale thriving in rehab starts of his own, the Red Sox should be in a position to reclaim first place in the American League East soon.
