Tag: polar park

Red Sox’ Chris Sale walks 5 in latest rehab start for Triple-A Worcester

In the fourth and possibly final start of his rehab assignment, Red Sox left-hander produced mixed results for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday night.

Pitching in front of a crowd of 8,891 at Polar Park, Sale allowed one run on three hits and five walks to go along with five strikeouts over just 3 2/3 innings of work in the WooSox’ 4-2 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

After tossing four innings in Portland last Thursday, the plan was for Sale to get stretched out to 65 pitches on Wednesday. A wrench was instead thrown into those plans due to a high pitch count.

Sale walked two of the first five batters he faced in the first inning and issued one more while striking out two of the four batters he faced in the top of the second. A leadoff walk of Tim Locastro to begin things in the third was negated when Jake Bauers grounded into an inning-ending, 4-6-3 double play.

In the fourth, Sale gave up back-to-back softy-hit singles to Phillip Evans and Greg Bird to lead off the inning. He then got the first out of the inning before giving up another weak single to Chris Owings that filled the bases.

A five-pitch punchout of Armando Alvarez increased Sale’s pitch count to 66. Rather than get pulled from the game, he got a visit from WooSox pitching coach Paul Abbott, who told him he had a hard limit of 70 pitches.

Sale followed that exchange by issuing a six-pitch walk to No. 9 hitter David Freitas, who proved to be the final RailRider he would face as Evans scored from third to make it a 1-1 game at the time.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 72 (42 strikes), Sale induced 14 swings-and-misses. The 33-year-old southpaw also averaged 94 mph and topped out at 97 mph with his fastball while mixing in a mid-80s changeup and high-70s slider, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

When speaking with reporters (including Speier) Wednesday night, Sale indicated that the lack of command he displayed can be attributed to an issue with his delivery, which he believes can be fixed easily.

“It’s nothing that can’t be cleaned up in this next week [with] a couple bullpen sessions,” Sale said. “This doesn’t really set me back.”

Sale began the season on the 60-day injured list due to a right rib cage stress fracture that he sustained in February. His return was then slowed for a period of time in May because of a non-baseball health concern related to his family’s medical history.

If this was indeed Sale’s final rehab outing, he would be on track to return to the Red Sox’ starting rotation during their series against the Rays in Tampa Bay next week. If not, he could make another start for one of Boston’s minor-league affiliates in order to refine his command before re-joining the big-league club.

Either way, Sale says he is feeling good physically and is in a different place than he was at this time last year while working his way back from Tommy John surgery.

“Coming back from a major arm surgery last year, there were a lot of question marks still,” said Sale. “This year’s more of just sharpening the sword, not rebuilding it.”

(Picture of Chris Sale: Katie Morrison/MassLive)

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Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas homers in Triple-A debut

Red Sox top prospect Triston Casas wasted no time in introducing himself to a new level of competition in his debut for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday night.

After earning a promotion from Double-A Portland earlier this week, Casas batted third and started at first base for the WooSox in their series opener against the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals affiliate) on a rainy night at Polar Park.

Matched up against 2020 first-round pick Cade Cavalli to begin things on Wednesday, the 21-year-old struck out in his first at-bat in the first inning and also fell behind 0-2 in his second at-bat following a two-out double from Jonathan Arauz two innings later.

At that time, the WooSox found themselves trailing the Red Wings by a score of 2-0, but Casas changed that rather quickly after he stepped out of the box to recompose himself.

As he stepped back into the box, the left-handed-hitting first baseman proceeded to take three straight balls from Cavalli before crushing a game-tying, two-run shot over the wall in left field for his first Triple-A home run.

“I knew I was one take away from settling in,” Casas told reporters Wednesday night. “I got behind 0-2 pretty quick in that second at-bat and I was like, ‘Man, I don’t want to go down like this again.’ So I had a couple good takes, and I know he’s got put-away stuff on the other side. He’s a really good pitcher, he made a mistake, and I capitalized on it.”

Franchy Cordero followed with a homer of his own to give Worcester their first lead of the night, as they would go on to take Wednesday’s contest by a final score of 4-3.

Casas wound up going 1-for-4 with just that one home run and two punchouts, but he certainly made his presence felt in his first exposure to Triple-A pitching.

“I try to take it as just another game, but I know this means a lot to me and it means a lot for the organization to bring me up here and get me playing time at this level,” he said following the WooSox’ win. “I just wanted to come out and contribute anyway I can, especially in the first game and it definitely settled the nerves, for sure.”

Casas, who was originally selected by the Red Sox with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the 2018 amateur draft out of American Heritage High School (Plantation, Fla.), is currently regarded by Baseball America as the top prospect in Boston’s farm system.

The Miami-area native initially opened the 2021 minor-league campaign at Portland after spending some time with the big-league club in spring training and held his own there, slashing .284/.395/.484 (142 wRC+) with 12 doubles, two triples, 13 homers, 52 RBI, 57 runs scored, six stolen bases, 49 walks, and 63 strikeouts over 77 games (329 plate appearances).

He also spent part of his summer in Tokyo, where he helped the United States’ Olympic baseball team win a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Games while being named the top first baseman of the tournament.

Casas’ promotion from Portland to Worcester came shortly after the Sea Dogs’ season ended this past Sunday, so the 6-foot-4, 252 pounder will now have the chance to get into some more games before the WooSox’ season comes to a close next weekend.

Given the progress he has made this year in the wake of the 2020 minor-league season getting cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Casas — who turns 22 in January — knows he is on the cusp of garnering serious consideration for a big-league call-up. Put another way, his time is coming.

“I felt it when they first gave me the call,” he said when asked if he has realized how close he is to the majors. “I was like, ‘Yeah, this is the last step, you know?’ I’m really close and it feels really good to know that my hard work is being appreciated.”

(Picture of Triston Casas: Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Connor Seabold dominates for Triple-A Worcester on one-year anniversary of trade from Phillies

August 21 continues to be a memorable date for Red Sox pitching prospect Connor Seabold.

At this time one year ago, Seabold — then a member of the Phillies organization — was traded to the Red Sox alongside fellow right-hander Nick Pivetta in exchange for relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree.

365 days later, and Seabold’s name is in the headlines once more, though it has to do with what he did on the mound for Triple-A Worcester this time around.

Making his sixth start of the season for the WooSox in Saturday’s contest against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees affiliate), the young right-hander put together quite the outing in front of 7,432 spectators at Polar Park.

Over seven quality innings of work, Seabold kept the RailRiders off the scoreboard while yielding just one hit and one walk to go along with nine strikeouts on the afternoon.

After retiring the first five batters he faced in order, Seabold issued a two-out walk to Socrates Brito in the top half of the second. He followed that up by getting Kyle Holder to line out to first base for the final out of the inning before truly settling in.

That being the case because from the beginning of the third inning on, Seabold did not allow a single hitter to reach base as he took a no-hitter into the top of the seventh before giving up a one-out single to Donny Sands.

Seabold was, however, able to induce a ground ball off the bat of Trey Amburgey to set up an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play, thus ending his outing on a more positive note.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 87 (61 strikes), the 25-year-old hurler wrapped up his day having induced 11 total swings-and-misses in the process of picking up his very first win of the year to improve to 1-3. He also lowered his ERA on the season down to 3.73 in what would go down as a 2-0 victory for the WooSox.

“I’m going to be honest, I’m fighting a cold right now,” Seabold, who sat around 90-93 mph with his fastball, told MassLive.com’s Katie Morrison. “That wasn’t fun for the first few innings, but then it got fun once the adrenaline kicked in. I was sweating like a dog out there. A couple of times when I threw it, I saw beads of sweat coming off. But outside of that, I felt pretty good.”

Seabold, who does not turn 26 until January, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 12 prospect in Boston’s farm system, ranking sixth among pitchers in the organization.

After coming over to the Red Sox in that trade with the Phillies last summer and being added to the Sox’ 40-man roster in November, the former third-round draft pick out of Cal State Fullerton opened the 2021 minor-league season on the injured list.

Right elbow inflammation sidelined Seabold for approximately 2 1/2 months, but he was able to make his return to the mound for the Florida Complex League Red Sox on July 12 before doing the same for the WooSox on July 23.

In addition to posting a 3.73 ERA through his first six starts of the year for Worcester, the 6-foot-3, 195 pound righty has also held opposing hitters to a .209 batting average against while putting up a WHIP of 1.02 over 31 1/3 total innings pitched.

Because he is fully healthy and pitching at a high level (2.35 ERA in the month of August), Seabold may be a name to keep an eye on when it comes time for major-league rosters to expand from 26 to 28 players at the start of September.

This is not to say a promotion this season is imminent, but if the occasion were to arise where the Red Sox needed a spot start or multiple innings out of the bullpen at some point in September, calling up Seabold would seem sensible considering the fact that he is already on the 40-man roster.

In the meantime, though, Seabold — who operates with a 91-93 mph fastball that tops out at 95 mph, a deceptive 80-82 mph changeup, and an 83-85 mph slider according to his SoxProspects.com scouting report — should be in line to make his next start for the WooSox during their upcoming series against the Buffalo Bisons at Sahlen Field.

(Picture of Connor Seabold: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Christian Arroyo ‘in a good spot’ amid rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester, Alex Cora says

Red Sox infielder Christian Arroyo continues to make progress during his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester, so much so that he has caught the attention of his manager, Alex Cora.

In his second game with the WooSox at Polar Park on Thursday evening, Arroyo went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, but also drew a leadoff walk in the fifth inning and promptly stole second base before coming around to score on an RBI double off the bat of Joey Meneses.

“He must be feeling really good,” Cora said of Arroyo ahead of Friday night’s game against the Rangers at Fenway Park. “I mean, he took off yesterday and stole a base, so that was good to see. I was watching on TV. He got a few at-bats.”

Arroyo, who has been on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain since July 19, played five innings of second base for Worcester in Game 1 of their doubleheader against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (a 5-3 win) on Thursday before making way for Chad De La Guerra in the top half of the sixth.

Two nights before, Arroyo went 0-for-2 with a flyout and groundout while also getting plunked by a pitch while serving as the WooSox’ designated hitter for six innings before getting pinch-hit for by Johan Mieses in the bottom half of the seventh of a 2-0 victory.

The 26-year-old originally strained his left hamstring in his professional debut at first base against the Yankees back on July 18.

In the third inning of that Sunday night contest in the Bronx, Arroyo attempted to stretch out while receiving a throw from second baseman Enrique Hernandez in order to complete a potential double play, but wound up doing a split that resulted in his immediate removal from the game.

Since that time, Arroyo has gotten back to the point where he was able to begin a rehab assignment earlier this week and will once again be starting at second base and batting second for the WooSox on Friday night.

“He’s going to play today again,” said Cora. “I don’t think he’s that far off. Obviously he hasn’t played in a while. It’s been a month. So as far as the timing and all that, we’ll talk to him. We’ll see how he feels. But I do believe body-wise, the way he’s moving, he’s in a good spot. The fact that he stole a base yesterday, it was a good sign.”

As previously mentioned, Arroyo did injure himself in his first career start at first base at any level back on July 18, but that does not mean the Red Sox will keep the 6-foot-1, 210 pounder away from that position in the future.

“As long as he doesn’t stretch or slip, whatever you want to call it,” Cora said on Wednesday. “He’s going to work at first. I don’t think he’s going to start at first base but I think he’s going to get some work in at first base.”

Taking that point into consideration, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Joe McDonald tweeted earlier Friday afternoon that Arroyo was spotted working out at first base at Polar Park.

Also, this:

Arroyo, who has missed time on the injured list on three separate occasions this season, has primarily served as Boston’s everyday second baseman when healthy.

In what is his first full season with the Red Sox, Arroyo is hitting .271/.327/.465 with 12 doubles, six home runs, 25 RBI, 21 runs scored, one stolen base, seven walks, and 41 strikeouts over 50 games (170 plate appearances).

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

WooSox Notes: Hirokazu Sawamura perfect in rehab outing; Kutter Crawford and Durbin Feltman solid in Polar Park debuts

The Worcester Red Sox fell to the Buffalo Bisons by a final score of 5-1 at Polar Park on Wednesday, marking their fifth consecutive loss.

While the WooSox did drop to 37-34 in their second of six against the Bisons, there were some positive developments — some of which will definitely pique the Red Sox’ interest.

Sawamura perfect in rehab appearance

Rehabbing reliever Hirokazu Sawamura opened the game for Worcester and needed all of 13 pitches — nine of which were strikes — to toss a perfect first inning in which he struck out one and got two to softly ground out.

Sawamura, who has been on the injured list since July 23 due to right triceps inflammation, had his stint on the IL backdated to July 20, meaning he could be activated as soon as Friday.

Barring any setbacks it seems likely that the 33-year-old righty will come off the injured list ahead of this weekend’s series against the Rays in Tampa Bay.

Crawford solid in Triple-A debut

Red Sox pitching prospect Kutter Crawford made his Triple-A debut on Wednesday and was quite impressive in his first action in a WooSox uniform.

Taking over for Sawamura, Crawford yielded three runs — all of which were earned — on nine hits and just one walk to go along with five strikeouts on the afternoon.

Of those nine hits the right-hander allowed, three were infield singles and seven were on soft contact, according to WooSox broadcaster Mike Antonellis.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 85 (59 strikes), Crawford ended his day by retiring six of the final seven hitters he faced.

Crawford, 25, was promoted from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester last week after posting a 3.30 ERA and 2.85 xFIP to go along with 64 strikeouts to just five walks over 10 starts (46 1/3 innings pitched) with the Sea Dogs to begin the season.

The Red Sox originally selected the 6-foot-1, 192 pound hurler in the 16th round of the 2017 amateur draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University.

Crawford entered the 2019 campaign as the No. 22 prospect in Boston’s farm system according to Baseball America and ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery that fall before having bone spurs removed from his throwing elbow the following summer.

His next start for the WooSox will likely come on the road against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders next Tuesday.

Feltman works his way around trouble in Polar Park debut

Like Crawford, fellow Red Sox pitching prospect Durbin Feltman made his first-ever appearance at Polar Park on Wednesday.

Working directly in relief of Crawford, Feltman issued a leadoff double to Bisons shortstop Kevin Smith to begin things in the eighth, but maneuvered his way around that by sitting down the next three batters he faced on a pair of fly outs and a lineout.

Of the 11 pitches Feltman needed to get through the eighth inning of Wednesday’s contest, seven went for strikes.

The 24-year-old right-handed reliever was promoted to Triple-A on July 23 and got rocked for three runs on four hits over two innings against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs that very same day.

Originally selected by Boston in the third round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Texas Christian University, Feltman — listed at 6-foot-2 and 207 pounds — opened the 2021 campaign with Double-A Portland and put up a 3.29 ERA and 3.62 xFIP in addition to 37 strikeouts and 10 walks over 22 relief appearances spanning 27 1/3 innings pitched.

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Both Crawford and Feltman can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time in their respective careers this winter, so there is a possibility that either one of the two righties could be dealt ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.

If not, they would need to be added to Boston’s 40-man roster before November 20 in order to be protected from this winter’s Rule 5 Draft.

(Picture of Hirokazu Sawamura: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Chris Sale punches out 9 over 3 2/3 innings in second rehab start for Double-A Portland; left-hander in line to start for Triple-A Worcester on July 31

Red Sox ace Chris Sale completed his third rehab start and his second for Double-A Portland at a sold-out Hadlock Field on Sunday afternoon.

Matched up against the Harrisburg Senators — the same team he faced on Tuesday — Sale yielded two earned runs on six hits, no walks, and one hit batsman to go along with nine strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings of work for the Sea Dogs.

The veteran left-hander was slated to pitch four or five frames depending on his pitch count, but a laborious third inning that required 28 pitches ultimately cut his day short.

After maneuvering his way around a two-out double in an otherwise clean first inning and striking out the side while stranding a runner in the second, Sale ran into a bit of trouble in the top half of the third.

There, he served up a leadoff home run to the Senators’ No. 9 hitter in Osvaldo Duarte before giving up a double and bunt single. Two straight punchouts brought the lefty to within one out of escaping the jam, but he plunked a batter to load the bases.

With two outs and the bases full in the third, Sale fanned Jackson Cluff on a swing-inducing slider to get out of the inning and then recorded the first two outs of the fourth before a two-out double marked the unofficial end of his outing.

In relief of Sale, Sea Dogs reliever Dominic LaBrutto allowed the lone runner he inherited to score on an RBI single, thus officially closing the book on Sale’s afternoon.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 64 (46 strikes), the 32-year-old hurler wound up retiring 11 of the 18 hitters he faced, as he hovered around 94-95 mph with his four-seam fastball and topped out at 96 mph with it while mixing in his slider and changeup as well.

For Sale, Sunday’s performance marked yet another milestone on his road back from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent nearly 16 months ago on March 30, 2020 — his 31st birthday.

In the time since undergoing that procedure to repair his UCL last spring, the 6-foot-6 southpaw has now made three rehab starts between the Florida Complex League Red Sox and Sea Dogs dating back to July 15. He has seen his pitch count rise from 39 to 49 to 64 in each of those outings.

Assuming he wakes up without issue Monday morning, Sale will be in line to make his next rehab start for Triple-A Worcester next Saturday, July 31, as the WooSox will be taking on the Buffalo Bisons at Polar Park.

There is a slight chance that could be Sale’s last minor-league start before he re-joins Boston’s major-league rotation, though Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush recently told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier that the club wants the seven-time All-Star to be at a point where he contribute five to six innings on 80 or so pitches every five days prior to him being activated off the injured list.

(Picture of Chris Sale: Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Red Sox promote minor-league outfielder Johan Mieses, who leads organization with 11 homers, to Triple-A Worcester

The Red Sox have promoted minor-league outfielder Johan Mieses from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Mieses, who turns 26 next month, originally signed a minor-league contract with the Sox back in November 2019, but did not play at all in 2020 on account of the minor-league season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Re-upping with Boston on another minor-league pact this past fall — after not receiving an invite to the team’s alternate training site or fall instructional league — the Dominican native opened the 2021 campaign with Double-A Portland and has done nothing but mash since then.

Over 23 games with the Sea Dogs, Mieses slashed .286/.368/.714 (188 wRC+) to go along with three doubles, a team-leading 11 home runs, 22 RBI, 19 runs scored, nine walks, and 19 strikeouts in 95 trips to the plate.

While primarily batting cleanup in his time in Portland, the 6-foot-2, 185 pound right-handed hitter played 11 games in right field, three games in left field, and nine games at designated hitter.

A former top prospect of the Dodgers organization who was signed out of the Dominican at 17, Mieses was part of the trade that sent infielder Breyvic Valera from the St. Louis Cardinals to Los Angeles in April 2018.

In his tenure with the Cardinals, Mieses appeared in 22 games for Triple-A Memphis across multiple stints with the affiliate during the 2019 season. In those 22 games, he hit .339/.414/.677 with six homers and 17 RBI.

Throughout his professional career, the slugging outfielder has shown a propensity for hitting home runs. That much is made evident by his 120 career homers at the minor-league level.

“It’s real power. The homers are legit,” Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. “His ability to drive the baseball and overall production at the plate has been consistent all season for Portland in the middle of their lineup. We felt now was a good opportunity to challenge him at the next level.”

As he prepares to embark upon this next phase of his career with the WooSox, one has to wonder if Mieses — who will be donning the No. 40 — will be able to take advantage of the way the ball has been flying out of Polar Park so far this season.

(Picture of Johan Mieses: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

New Podding the Red Sox episode: MassLive.com’s Katie Morrison joins the show

On this week’s installment of Podding the Red Sox: A BloggingtheRedSox.com Podcast, I am joined by Katie Morrison, who covers the Worcester Red Sox for MassLive.com.

Among the topics Katie and I discussed were how she got into writing about baseball and her background in photojournalism, what she has made of brand-new Polar Park and the overall fan experience there, which Red Sox prospects (like Jarren Duran and Jeter Downs) and minor-leaguers (like Kaleb Ort) have stood out to her in Worcester so far, how she believes the 2021 WooSox will perform the rest of the season, and much more!

The episode is available to listen to on iTunes and Spotify, among other platforms.

Thanks to Katie for taking some time out of her busy schedule to have a conversation with me.

You can follow Katie on Twitter (@KatieMo61) by clicking here. You can check out her WooSox coverage for MassLive.com by clicking here.

Thank you for listening and we will see you next time! Please make sure to subscribe and leave a five-star review if you can!

(Picture of Polar Park: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox option Jonathan Araúz to Triple-A Worcester; Kiké Hernández (right hamstring strain) expected to be activated from injured list Tuesday

The Red Sox optioned infielder Jonathan Arauz to Triple-A Worcester following Sunday’s 6-5 loss to the Angels, the team announced Monday afternoon.

Arauz, 22, was originally recalled from the WooSox back on May 9, when fellow infielder Christian Arroyo was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left hand contusion.

In four games in his first major-league stint with Boston this season, the switch-hitter went 2-for-8 with two runs scored, one RBI, two walks, and three strikeouts while primarily playing shortstop.

At the time he was called up from Worcester, Arauz was batting .200 (3-for-15) with one RBI over his first five games with the WooSox.

Because the Red Sox optioned Arauz without making a corresponding roster move, the expectation is that utility man Kiké Hernández — who has been on the IL with a right hamstring strain since May 7 — will be activated ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Blue Jays in Dunedin.

Hernandez spent the weekend on a rehab assignment with Worcester, where he went 2-for-6 with two home runs (including a grand slam), five RBI, and three runs scored in two games against the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park.

(Picture of Jonathan Arauz: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

Kiké Hernández rehab assignment: Red Sox utility man crushes grand slam as part of two-homer day for Triple-A Worcester

In the second game of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday afternoon, Red Sox utility man Kiké Hernández enjoyed a fine day at the plate against the Syracuse Mets at Polar Park.

Batting out of the leadoff spot while starting in center field, Hernandez went 2-for-4 with two home runs — including a grand slam — and five RBI before his day came to an end after seven innings.

After grounding out to second base in his first at-bat against Mets starter Jesus Reyes, Hernandez took full advantage of the opportunity he was given in the second inning.

With two outs and the bases full, the 29-year-old swung at the first pitch he saw from Reyes and crushed it approximately 457 feet over everything in left-center field.

Not only did Hernandez’s slam give his side a 5-0 lead, it was also the first grand slam in WooSox history.

Fast forward to the seventh, and Hernandez struck again when matched up against Mets reliever A.J. Schugel, this time depositing a solo shot to left-center to put the WooSox up 7-3 in what would turn out to be a 7-4 victory on Sunday.

In addition to contributing offensively, Hernandez also showed off his arm strength in the fifth inning when he snuffed out Wilfredo Tovar at third base after the Mets infielder unsuccessfully tried to turn a two-out double into a triple.

Through two games with Worcester now, the right-handed hitter is 2-for-6 with those two home runs, five RBI, and three runs scored. He got two at-bats as the WooSox’ designated hitter on Saturday and — as previously mentioned — played seven innings of center field on Sunday.

Hernandez has been on the injured list since last Friday after suffering a right hamstring strain against the Tigers on May 6, meaning he would be eligible to come off the IL when the Red Sox open a three-game series against the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. on Tuesday.

That being said, Sox manager Alex Cora relayed earlier Sunday that no decision has been made in regards to when Hernandez could be activated.

“I just saw Chaim [Bloom] and [head trainer] Brad [Pearson],” Cora said following his team’s 6-5 loss to the Angels. “So we’re waiting for him to get here, I guess, and see how he feels. But, I guess, he feels good at the plate for what they said. So we’ll wait for him to get here and then go from there.”

If all goes well, it seems likely that Hernandez will be activated before Tuesday’s series opener against Toronto, while one of Jonathan Arauz or Michael Chavis would be sent back down to Worcester. We will have to wait and see on that.

(Picture of Kiké Hernández: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)