BOSTON -- With just over six weeks left in the regular season, DJ Stewart is eager to get back to work. The outfielder has been battling injuries all year, and he was reinstated from the IL Friday after being placed on the concussion protocol on Aug. 7.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Stewart said Friday before the Orioles opened a weekend series against the Red Sox. “Hopefully I’ll be able to stay on the field a little bit longer.”

Stewart suffered a concussion on a fly ball hit by Mike Ford in the sixth inning against the Yankees on Aug. 7. He rushed to catch the ball and dove, being struck by the ball as it landed.

“I knew I had to book it to get over there,” Stewart said. “Kind of ran in first, and then realized I needed to go over a little bit. But I think my body and momentum was kind of already down to the ground, kind of already on the ground before. I looked up to see if I could try to catch the ball, but knew that I wasn’t going to be able to make the catch. I tried to protect myself, but wasn’t able to. It hit me on the right side of the head.”

Stewart said he felt “fine” immediately after being struck by the ball. As the inning progressed, he experienced more pressure in his head. The 25-year-old followed the protocol set forth by the Orioles’ staff.

“Most important is not [to] push it faster than what you should because your brain, you only get one of them, honestly,” Stewart said. “There’s no transplant or anything for that. There’s life after baseball as well, obviously. I want to have kids and stuff, be able to teach them. I’ve had concussions before playing football so it’s not my first time having it. Obviously if you’ve had multiple, you want to err on the side of caution with that.”

Patience has been a key part of Stewart’s second Major League season. The Orioles’ No. 23 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, had just returned from the IL on Aug. 6 after spraining his right ankle a month earlier.

“It’s obviously been something kind of new for me,” Stewart said. “I’ve never been hurt in my career. For this kind of stuff to come back to back, it’s been tough for me. But I’m glad to be back and hopefully stay out there and stay safe and contribute to the team.”

Stewart started in right field and batted sixth on Friday at Fenway Park. He was hitting .160 in eight big league games this season, and batting .291 with 12 homers and 47 RBIs in 63 games with Triple-A Norfolk.

“The guy I saw at Spring Training was a guy that took really good at-bats,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Love the energy he plays with. … He’s hit well in Triple-A this year, and I’d love to see him continue that and carry that over here in the big leagues.”

The Orioles optioned right-hander Chandler Shepherd to Norfolk in a corresponding move.

Minor League movement

The Orioles' No. 8 prospect, right-hander Dean Kremer, and No. 24 prospect, infielder Rylan Bannon, were promoted to Triple-A this week. Kremer and Bannon, both 23, were two of the five prospects acquired by the Orioles from the Dodgers in the Manny Machado trade last July.

Kremer went 9-4 with a 2.98 ERA in 15 starts for Double-A Bowie this season. Bannon hit .255 with eight homers, 99 hits and 45 runs in 110 games for Bowie.