The Red Sox might get their starting catcher back a lot sooner than originally expected.
Manager Alex Cora provided a number of injury updates ahead of Friday’s game, and the most interesting was the revelation that catcher Connor Wong might be ready to return in two and a half weeks, if not sooner.
“I gave him kind of a timeline and he’s like what? That’s too late! So I’m like ok you’re feeling good, huh?” Cora said. “I think they’re going to add stuff offensively in the upcoming days and hopefully he feels good. He feels like defensively he’s not going to have trouble, he’s going to be ok. So if that happens then a couple of at bats, go down there and do your thing and join us as soon as possible.”
Wong suffered a small fracture in his left pinkie finger on April 7 when he was hit in the hand by a George Springer swing. Typically fractures take approximately six weeks to heal, but Cora previously said Wong’s doctors said his injury represented a best-case scenario, improving his prognosis.
Cora said Wong is already hitting off a tee and taking part in defensive drills, though he hasn’t caught any bullpens or pitches from the pitching machine. Cora confirmed he told Wong he thought he could be activated in two and a half weeks, which would be only five weeks out from the original injury, and that Wong indicated he thinks it’ll be sooner.
“If he’s feeling that way, it’s great,” Cora said.
Cora also provided an encouraging update on right-hander Kutter Crawford (right patellar soreness), who threw an up-and-down bullpen session designed to simulate a two-inning outing. Cora termed that “a big step” and indicated Crawford should soon throw a live bullpen before hopefully starting a rehab assignment.
“Now it’s just the ramp up and getting him there. I don’t know what the plan is for that or when it starts, like I said today is a good day, but we’ll get there when we get there,” Cora said. “The most important thing is for him keep getting the repetitions and keep feeling better, and hopefully he can get going soon.”
Cora said right-handers Brayan Bello (right shoulder soreness) and Liam Hendriks (right elbow inflammation) both came out of Wednesday’s rehab outings well and should be activated soon. Hendriks is expected to join the Red Sox bullpen over the weekend, and Bello will rejoin the Red Sox starting rotation next week.
Right-hander Lucas Giolito (left hamstring tightness) will throw at least one more rehab outing.
“We’ll sit down and map it out,” Cora said. “He’ll join us sooner rather than later, I’m telling you that, but he won’t be the next one.”