Sunday provided great news and bad news for Red Sox injuries.
Shortly after Alex Cora revealed Chris Sale will return next weekend, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reported that Kyle Schwarber recently suffered a setback while rehabbing his injured hamstring. Boston acquired Schwarber, out since early July with a hamstring injury, in a July 29 trade with the Washington Nationals.
From McCaffrey's story published Sunday afternoon:
Sources confirmed that Schwarber has suffered a minor setback with left groin tightness in the midst of his rehab from a right hamstring strain. Schwarber ramped up his progression running and fielding this week while the team was in Detroit but felt tightness in his left groin, so the Red Sox have lowered his activity level as a precaution.
... At the time of the trade, it was expected Schwarber was about two weeks away from joining the Red Sox. This latest setback isn’t expected to delay Schwarber much beyond the initial projection of two to three weeks, but it's nevertheless concerning.
Obviously, the news is a tough blow to the Red Sox, currently amid their toughest slump of the season. They need Schwarber's bat in the lineup as soon as possible.
Whether the groin issue will hinder the outfielder's planned transition to first base remains to be seen. As McCaffrey noted, groin and hamstring issues could make it difficult to play a position that requires considerable stretching.
Schwarber, 28, was one of the most productive hitters in baseball before going down the hamstring injury. He posted a .253 average with 25 homers in 72 games with the Washington Nationals.
