Ryan Brasier is having his rehab really kicked into gear.
The Boston Red Sox reliever has been unable to pitch this season for a variety of reasons. He had a delayed start to his spring training due to the death of his father. Brasier then missed the first two months of the season with a fractured finger, and in a simulated game right before he was supposed to start rehab outings, he was hit in the head with a line drive.
It’s been a difficult year for Brasier, who has been working out in Worcester and is getting close to heading out on a rehab assignment. He took a key step forward Wednesday, though, by throwing a live batting practice, and it was his first time without an L-Screen in front of him.
“He threw a live BP yesterday,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday over Zoom. “And just like (Matt) Andriese, Brasier’s situation — (Worcester pitching coach Paul Abbott) was very excited by the fact that there were some swings and there was no hesitation, right? We know what happened with him, so that was one of the hurdles, or obstacles, whatever you want to call it. But we were a little bit worried about it, and there was no hesitation, which is good.
“I think there’s going to be another live BP, and then after that we’ll address the situation. Hopefully he can go on a rehab assignment sooner rather than later, as always. I don’t know, what seemed like he was going to be part of this late, late this season, it seems like it’s trending in the right direction, which is great.”
This has been a taxing year, obviously, for Brasier. But Cora is confident the 33-year-old is where he is today because of resources both at home and through the team.
“We’ve been helping him in everything,” Cora said. “It’s not only on the field, but off the field. The group that he has around him has been amazing, there’s a reason he’s in this situation, it’s because of the support system that he has — starting with the family, of course. But what the Red Sox have done throughout the whole process with the stuff that happened on the field and off the field, they’ve been amazing.”
Brasier is coming off a really solid 2020 season. If he is healthy, he could find himself in the equation for some late-inning action.
