BOSTON – Newly acquired Red Sox catcher Adley Rutschman is closing in on a Minor League rehab assignment. Could it happen as early as this weekend?
“It’s possible. I'll just leave it at that,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “We have not discussed an exact date on that yet. He's doing some more stuff today, doing some more check-ins and we're still ironing down what's going to happen there based on how he feels and what everybody thinks, and so we don't know yet. But I would answer that and say it's possible.”
Conceivably, Rutschman could debut for the Red Sox as soon as the road trip that takes them to Toronto and Pittsburgh next week. But the club didn’t offer a timetable.
Rutschman last played for the Orioles on July 18 before going on the 10-day injured list with left wrist inflammation, so he probably wouldn’t need a prolonged rehab assignment.
The Red Sox went all-in to acquire the three-time All-Star hours in advance of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, dealing three of their top five prospects per MLB Pipeline at the time the deal was made.
Already the hottest team in the Majors, Boston should look even more potent offensively for the stretch run. Not only will Rutschman be part of the equation but so, too, should Roman Anthony.
The outfielder – out since May 5 with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist/hand – continues to make progress with his hitting program in Fort Myers, Fla.
Within the span of the last 10 days or so, Anthony has progressed from tee work and short flips to facing overhand batting practice in the cage to his latest step this week – hitting off a machine that can go to high velocity.
The final steps before Anthony can go on a rehab assignment would be taking BP on the field and hitting off the Trajekt machine, which can simulate any Major League pitcher.
Given how much time Anthony has missed, he would need a more prolonged stint in the Minors than Rutschman.
Weissert gets surprising option to Triple-A
It’s not very often a pitcher who leads his team in appearances gets optioned to Triple-A.
But that was the unique situation that Greg Weissert found himself in following Boston’s wild 13-inning 12-11 win on Thursday in which Tracy had to deploy his entire bullpen.
To fill Weissert’s spot on the roster, the Sox added lefty Raymond Burgos to the roster. The 27-year-old provides a bulk option for Tracy, having pitched 15 games (14 starts) for Worcester this season, posting a 5.63 ERA.
“It's obvious after using the entire bullpen last night, when you get into a spot looking at that, it's imperative that we have an arm that's got 90 to 100 pitches if you need it, because we're thin, obviously,” said Tracy. “So Burgos fills that role, and it's really roster flexibility with the options and things like that. So that's not a conversation you want to have with anybody after a game like that. Sometimes, it’s just necessary.”
Weissert struggled to find consistency early in the season, but has held opponents scoreless seven out of nine times since the All-Star break. In 48 appearances, Weissert has a 3.97 ERA.
The righty threw 34 pitches and allowed a run in Thursday’s thriller, which likely would have kept him out of action for at least the next couple of days. Pitching for Worcester, Weissert can have what Tracy termed a “de-load” of sorts, perhaps leaving him fresher once he does return.
“I wouldn’t say that’s what we planned,” said Tracy. “My preference would obviously be that he's still here. And that we weren’t in this situation. But it definitely can function as somewhat of a little bit of a de-load because you're not going to throw as often, as many innings down there.
“It's a little bit more scripted out and scheduled, so it can function that way, but again, the preference would be that our bullpen was in really good shape and we won the game in nine innings, and here we go. But that’s just not how it worked out.”