BOSTON -- Adley Rutschman's weekend in Worcester, where he played two Minor League rehab games with Boston's Triple-A affiliate, was apparently enough.
The Red Sox’s prized acquisition at the Trade Deadline got back to Fenway Park in time on Sunday to travel with his team to Toronto, where he is expected to make his debut at some point during the upcoming four-game series against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
However, interim manager Chad Tracy said the switch-hitting catcher, who is coming back from left wrist inflammation, won’t play on Monday.
“Adley’s traveling with us. He’s gonna have a workout day with us [Monday],” Tracy said. “We'll see where he's at, how he feels, and go from there. He’ll take BP, do all the work, make sure that he comes out of all that OK, and we'll assess him after that.”
In his first action of any kind since July 18, Rutschman looked comfortable on Saturday, belting a two-run double, walking twice and throwing out an attempted basestealer.
He served as the designated hitter on Sunday, going 0-for-3.
The Red Sox went all in on Rutschman at the Trade Deadline, sending the Orioles three of their top five prospects as rated by MLB Pipeline at the time of the deal in righty starters Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon and outfielder Enddy Azocar. The Red Sox also added catcher Carlos Narváez in the trade, while Baltimore sent veteran catcher Jake Rogers to Boston.
It remains to be seen if the Sox will hang on to Rogers once they activate Rutschman later this week. Connor Wong is a solid backup, and many of Boston’s pitchers are comfortable working with him.
But the big news for the Red Sox will be getting Rutschman into the lineup and behind the plate.
“He is a proven star in this league. We've obviously seen him a lot over the last few years in a position where we felt like there was an opportunity to bring someone in and improve the outlook here,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said the day he made the trade.
“As we looked to upgrade the team, this was an opportunity for us. In Adley, you get impact on both sides of the ball. He's a premium defender, switch-hitter. So he's a great fit for our park. He doesn't strike out. He walks and gets on base. He can hit for damage.”