The Boston Red Sox are very close to getting back a reliever who was a major part of their success a season ago.
Josh Taylor is nearing a return to the big-league club as he sits in between back-to-back scheduled outings for Double-A Portland. The last step for relievers in their rehab assignments is to throw multiple days in a row, a crucial step for a bullpen piece.
He threw an inning Tuesday, and his results were a mixed bag.
"Taylor allowed one run on three hits including a home run in his one inning of work on an MLB rehab assignment with the Sea Dogs on Tuesday night," the Portland Sea Dogs tweeted after his outing. "He threw 14 pitches, 10 for strikes. He is expected to throw another inning on Wednesday.
While the stat sheet is not impressive, 71% of his pitches were strikes. Results are far from the most important part of a rehab assignment, but his mechanics appear to be in order. Barring a setback, he has a good shot to complete his recovery process on Wednesday.
