BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox hope that knuckleballer Steven Wright can throw off a mound by this weekend at Tropicana Field, which would set him up for a possible return in the postseason.
Wright has started just two games for Boston since his complete-game shutout at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 5 due to bursitis in his right shoulder.
This week, Wright has been at the team's Spring Training base in Fort Myers, Fla.
"He was out to 120 feet today," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "We're taking this day to day. I'd love to be able to give you a date in which he gets on the mound. Optimistically, that could be the first day when we get down to [St. Petersburg]. But we've got to see him get out to 120 feet a couple of times. Hopefully we'll see him on the mound in a bullpen session in [St. Petersburg]."
While it might be a stretch to think a conventional pitcher would be able to return given such a short time frame, the fact that Wright is a knuckleballer could work to his advantage because it won't take him as long to rebuild the required arm strength.
"As long as he can get into his normal arm slot, and pitch without restriction, we feel like he'll be able to execute his knuckleball as he did," said Farrell. "That's what he's continued to work at, to get to this point."
Wright has been a valuable starter for the Red Sox when healthy this season, going 13-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 24 starts.