Sale nearing assignment after rehab

BOSTON — The light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible for Chris Sale.

The injured lefty is expected to get on the mound three times next week before the Red Sox reevaluate him, but the next step could be a rehab assignment to kickstart his return to the big leagues for the first time since last October.

“I’m not 100% sure, but probably,” manager Alex Cora said of Sale’s pending rehab assignment.

Sale fractured a rib in February while the MLB owners were still locking out the players. Sale was working out at Florida Gulf Coast University when he suffered the injury, but the Sox weren’t aware of the extent of it until the lockout was lifted in March.

He was placed on the 60-day injured list to start the season and won’t be eligible to return until at least June 8, though that timeline is unlikely given he would probably need several rehab starts in the minors.

He threw about 25 pitches in a bullpen session this week and is feeling good, Cora said.

Highly anticipated debut:

The rotation has been a strength all year, and they’ll add one more to the crew on Saturday.

Josh Winckowski, a 23-year-old prospect sent by the Royals in the Andrew Benintendi trade last year, will make his big league debut and start the second game of a scheduled doubleheader against the Orioles at 6:10 p.m.

A 15th-round draft pick by the Blue Jays in 2016, Winckowski has been sensational since joining the Sox’ system last year. He had a 3.94 ERA and 1.23 WHIP between Double-a and Triple-a in ‘21, and will enter his start on Saturday having posted a 3.13 ERA and 0.85 WHIP for Triple-a Worcester this year.

Barnes getting frustrated:

Matt Barnes looked lost on the mound Thursday night, when he threw 27 pitches, just nine for strikes while walking four batters and recording just one out against the White Sox.

It was the kind of outing that makes it easy to question why Barnes is on a big league roster, but the Red Sox aren’t giving up on their All-star closer.