Price strong off mound
Lefty looks solid in bullpen session
NEW YORK — Although the timetable for David Price’s return remains murky, manager John Farrell yesterday sounded as encouraged as he’d been all season.
Price threw a 29-pitch bullpen session at Yankee Stadium, his second time throwing off a mound since going on the disabled list at the end of July with recurring soreness in his left elbow.
With 27 games left to play, the Red Sox are up against the clock to get Price ready to pitch again, but yesterday seemed to be a significant step forward.
“I’ll be honest with you, it was impressive,” Farrell said. “It was powerful, fastball (and) changeup. He came out of it feeling really good and really encouraged by it. As we’ve done with every throwing session, we’ll see where he’s at (before moving forward).” If all goes well, Price could throw another bullpen either tomorrow or Monday, and Farrell said the plan would be to include breaking balls in that session.
With minor league seasons coming to an end, a rehab assignment could be tricky, but the Red Sox could create intrasquad and simulated games to get Price up to speed.
Just how many bullpens he’ll need before facing hitters, and just how many simulated games he’ll need before pitching in a real game, remains to be seen. Price has so far progressed at a rate quicker than his spring training elbow injury, which caused him to miss nearly two months of the regular season.
“Once we get a couple of bullpens or more under his belt, we’ll get a better read,” Farrell said. “He’s going to have to get back into a simulated game type of situation. Still too early to say the end date or even project what that date would be.”
Pedroia returns
For the first time since July 28, Dustin Pedroia was the Red Sox starting second baseman last night. He went 1-for-4 and made two key plays in the field in the Sox’ 4-1 win before being removed as a precaution in the eighth inning.
“Their plan was to play me six innings, so I kind of got a couple more out of them,” Pedroia said. “I’m pretty excited. It was great to be out there with the guys. It was a great win for us.”
Pedroia had played only one game, at designated hitter, in the past month because of lingering soreness in his left knee. Farrell said he will try to give Pedroia occasional breaks, including a day off today.
Farrell said he and Pedroia met to discuss workload limitations, at least for these first few games back, and Pedroia said he’s onboard.
“We kind of have one chance at this thing to do it right,” he said. “We’re going to do that.”
Beyond his single, Pedroia’s biggest contributions were a quick throw to get speedy Brett Gardner, and a heads-up play to field a ball that had ricocheted off Mitch Moreland.
“He’s such a timely player when it comes to some of those diving plays or a carom off of Mitch like we saw,” Farrell said. “His stability in the middle infield will do us a world of good.”
Cavalry arrives
Pedroia was one of six players added to the roster as the team’s initial September call-ups. Reliever Matt Barnes was also activated from the disabled list, while catcher Blake Swihart, infielder Sam Travis and pitchers Austin Maddox and Roenis Elias were called up from Triple A.
The Red Sox plan to add two more today when they activate center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. from the disabled and call up infielder Tzu-Wei Lin.
Notably missing from the initial call-ups was Triple-A outfielder Bryce Brentz, who was hitting .273 with 30 home runs, tied for the most in the International League. Brentz was left in the minor leagues despite the Red Sox having Brock Holt playing left field last night and Chris Young’s struggles against left-handers.
Not having a spot on the 40-man roster seemed to be a key factor in the decision.
“We know that there’s roster consequences to that, or adjustments needed,” Farrell said. “The door is not closed on any situation in terms of how our roster stands today.”