When the Red Sox acquired Adalberto Mondesi from Kansas City this past offseason, they understood he might not be ready for Opening Day. The electric shortstop was just about a year removed from suffering a torn ACL in his left knee, but the hope was before long his speed and explosiveness could become a game-breaking asset.
Recovering that explosiveness, however, has proven a much slower process than expected.
Though Mondesi has not experienced any setbacks and his surgically repaired knee is still structurally sound, he is not close to a return and isn’t expected to begin a rehab assignment in the near future.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that while Mondesi is making progress, it has often come with fits and starts.
“There are going to be good days and bad days, we’ve got to make sure when the bad days happen it’s ‘hey you’re fine structurally, you’re good,’ ” Cora said. “It’s just part of the process so be patient and we’ll keep moving on.”
Acquired from Kansas City in exchange for left-hander Josh Taylor this past offseason, the Red Sox made a bet that Mondesi could give the club the type of dynamic athleticism its rarely had in recent years.
Since making his MLB debut at age 20 during the 2015 World Series, Mondesi has consistently ranked among the fastest players in baseball. He’s led the majors in both triples (10, 2019) and stolen bases (24, 2020), and between 2018 and 2020 he swiped 99 bags, the most in baseball during that stretch.
The problem has always been durability. Throughout his career Mondesi has frequently battled injury and has only topped 100 games in a season once in 2019. The following year he also played 59 of 60 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but the two years since have been rife with setbacks, the most significant being the season-ending knee injury he suffered April 28 last year while breaking for second on a stolen base attempt.
Given that history and the level of stress his style of play puts on his body, coming back from the torn ACL has been particularly challenging.
“Right now he is explosive but not at the level he’s used to. Maybe that’s what’s holding him back,” Cora said. “He was here, MRIs and all that stuff, structure is great, progressing well. Now just keep pushing, pushing, pushing and we’ll see where it takes us.”
Mondesi is technically eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on May 29, but at the rate things are going it’s unlikely he’ll be activated anytime soon.
The Red Sox shook up their middle infield depth on Saturday, adding recently acquired utility player Pablo Reyes to the big league roster while optioning Bobby Dalbec to Triple-A.
Acquired from the Oakland Athletics for cash considerations on Friday, Reyes has played all over the diamond throughout his four big league seasons. While he is expected to primarily play in the middle infield in Boston, Cora said they can use Reyes in a variety of late-game situations and that his versatility and veteran experience were among the reasons why they liked him.
“We know Bobby can make plays but he doesn’t have experience up the middle,” Cora said. “Towards the end of the game, not that I was hesitant but I feel more comfortable with a guy that’s played the position before.”
Reyes batted ninth in his Red Sox debut on Saturday and doubled in his first at bat. Prior to the trade he was batting .257 with one home run in 21 games for Triple-A Las Vegas. Entering this weekend he had appeared in 148 big league games with Pittsburgh (2018-19) and Milwaukee (2021-22), batting .238 for his MLB career.
Right-hander Kutter Crawford (left hamstring strain) threw live batting practice at Fenway Park on Saturday and is expected to make a rehab appearance alongside righty Garrett Whitlock on Tuesday in Worcester.
Cora said the hope is he’ll throw three innings and if all goes well he’ll be activated ahead of the club’s upcoming west coast road trip on Friday.
Whitlock (right elbow ulnar neuritis) will make at least two rehab starts, first on Tuesday and next on Sunday. If those go well Cora said they will decide what their next moves will be.
Left-hander Joely Rodriguez (right oblique strain) threw 1.1 innings in what could be his final rehab outing on Saturday in Portland. He allowed one hit, a solo home run off the bat of North Andover native and former St. John’s Prep star Max Burt, and struck out two.
Christian Arroyo (right hamstring strain) swung the bat during Crawford’s live BP. Cora said he’s progressing well and should be back soon, but might not quite be ready once he’s eligible to be activated on Wednesday.
Trevor Story (right elbow rehab) threw up to 75 feet on Friday and has continued swinging the bat. Yu Chang (left hamate fracture) is out of his cast and is hitting off the tee. Adam Duvall (right wrist fracture) is also out of both his cast and splint but isn’t hitting yet.