No matter how important this week’s games may be, the Red Sox indicated Sunday they won’t rush Trevor Story back until he’s 100% ready.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Story will use the entirety of his 20-day rehab assignment, which is due to expire on Wednesday. Story is scheduled to play Sunday, sit Monday and play Tuesday and Wednesday for the WooSox, and after that he will return to Boston and the club will assess things from there.
Barring any unexpected changes, Story could be activated by Thursday at the earliest.
The issue for Story isn’t his surgically repaired elbow, Cora said, but simply bouncing back from game action. Cora said it’s common for players to struggle physically during spring training as they ramp up to regular season form, and Story is still working his way through that process.
“It’s just the bounce back, it’s spring training for him so I don’t think it’s the repetitions and all that, it’s how he feels body-wise, and the only guy who feels that is him,” Cora said. “We’re supporting him, we’re helping him out with everything and hopefully after this three or four days he feels ready, he feels good physically and we move forward.”
Cora said Story will be the one to determine when he’s ready to return, and the club is respecting his decision to take advantage of the full length of his rehab assignment. He also rejected the notion that Story should tough it out and complete his ramp up in Boston, noting that it’s not his place to make assumptions on how a player should be feeling, especially someone who hasn’t played in a big league game in nearly a year.
“People react differently to the rehab and we have to respect the fact that he feels this way,” Cora said. “He’s the only guy that can tell you how he feels, it’s not on us to assume he should be ok, that’s the way I see.”
In other injury news, Chris Sale (stress reaction in left shoulder blade) is expected to return to Boston on Monday after starting for the WooSox on Sunday. A decision on his next steps should be made by Tuesday, Cora said.
Tanner Houck (facial fracture) made his first rehab start Saturday for Worcester and struggled with his command, walking three and allowing two runs on three hits over 1.2 innings of work. Cora said he was “just off” while noting it isn’t easy to come back after being hit in the face by a line drive, and that he’ll likely pitch next on Thursday.
Garrett Whitlock (right elbow bruise) is feeling good after Saturday’s live batting practice session and he’ll most likely begin his rehab assignment this coming week. Though Cora previously indicated Whitlock will return as a multi-inning reliever, he said Sunday that they’ll stretch him out so he could still pitch longer outings if needed.
Alex Verdugo was back in the Red Sox lineup Sunday after being benched ahead of Saturday’s game against Toronto. Though Cora expressed continued frustration that the action was necessary, the Red Sox manager indicated a desire to move forward and put the incident behind them.
“We took a step back yesterday as a team and now we have to move forward, and he’s part of this,” Cora said. “Hopefully we learn as a group from what happened yesterday, and that’s the reason we did it. It was my decision not to play him, I have my reasons and we’ll leave it at that.”
Although the club has not commented publicly on why Verdugo was disciplined, MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported that Verdugo didn’t arrive at the ballpark until two hours before the game. Whether there was more at play or not, the incident was the latest in a worrying trend of issues involving the talented outfielder. Earlier this season Verdugo was benched for lack of hustle during a game in Cleveland, and last fall Cora felt compelled to publicly call out his outfielder as someone he felt could be better.
Asked if he felt Verdugo was at a crossroads with the organization, Cora called him a good kid with a great heart, but also someone who needs guidance and needs to decide where he wants to go as a player.
“It’s disappointing, because you feel like you’re doing everything possible for stuff like this not to happen, but he’s not perfect, I’m not perfect. I think our relationship is actually really good, but I’ll do my best to keep pushing him to be great, keep pushing him to be responsible and keep pushing him to be there for his teammates every single day,” Cora said. “One time he hasn’t been there for his teammates, and that was yesterday, so in that aspect whatever people are questioning or thinking or implying, no, it’s one day out of four years.”
The Red Sox called up newly acquired right-hander Nick Robertson, one of the pitching prospects obtained in the Kiké Hernández trade, ahead of Sunday’s game to help give the beleaguered bullpen a boost.
To clear space, the club also optioned left-hander Joe Jacques to Triple-A.
Robertson, 25, made nine big league appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the trade and posted a 2.87 ERA in 31 outings at Triple-A. The 6-foot-5 righty boasts a mid-90s fastball and a devastating changeup, which Cora called his best weapon.
“The changeup is good, it’s really good,” Cora said. “Big fastball but the changeup is a plus pitch that he can use against lefties and righties.”
Robertson said pregame that the past few days have been hectic as he’s adjusted to the new organization, but he’s looking forward to being able to play in Boston. He added that Fenway Park was the first MLB ballpark he ever visited, saying he and his college teammates at James Madison University attended a game in the 2017-18 range while in town to play Northeastern.
“It’s nice to be back here and actually be able to be on the field and be able to play for a team I came to watch,” Robertson said.
Saturday may have been one of the worst days of Alex Cora’s Red Sox career, but at least it ended on a high note. The Red Sox manager revealed pregame that after Saturday’s debacle he went out to dinner and ran into NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, who Cora said was in town for a golf tournament.
“What a night, that guy was awesome,” Cora said. “He made my night, went back home and we’re ready today.”