The Sox’ contingent of rehabbing big leaguers has been a mixed bag in the minors so far. Roman Anthony seems fine, more or less, hitting moon shots, working walks, and working his way back. Trevor Story and IKF, on the other hand, look lost at the plate. So what’s next for this trio? Story and IKF will head to Boston today to be reevaluated, and they could potentially rejoin the team for the upcoming series against the Marlins. Anthony, though, will head southwest from Portland to Worcester and make his first appearance with the WooSox on Tuesday. Could he return before the weekend? “I wouldn’t completely rule it out,” Chad Tracy said. “But I still think he’s in the building-up phase of outfield and continuing to get at-bats. So, I won’t completely rule it out, but he’s definitely going to continue on Tuesday in Worcester.“ (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
Trevor Story certainly didn’t look like a big leaguer down in Worcester. And complicating matters with respect to his return is the fact that Nick Sogard has looked great in Fenway. “You can’t say enough about it,” Tracy said of Sogard’s receet play. “You’re getting power swings on the left side, powerful swings on the right side. You’re getting great defense. It’s been enormous, the at-bats he’s taken.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
Unfortunately, Garrett Crochet isn’t nearly as close to returning, though he is making progress, having recently started “playing catch from 90 feet with greater intensity.” As a result of his injury, he has officially lost his ability to opt out of his contract in 2030, and the Sox now hold an option on him for the 2032 season. “I’ve long since accepted it,” Crochet said. “Regardless of that, my goal is to come back and help the team in any way that I can.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
When Crochet does return, he’ll find himself paired with a new battery mate of course. Luckily, new catcher Adley Rutschman is getting great reviews for the way he handles the staff. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
As amazing as this season has been, it isn’t hard to think about what this team would look like Garrett Crochet in the rotation, especially come playoff time. As it stands, though, we’ll get a little preview of the Sox playoff rotation this week, as Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle, and Sonny Gray will face the Marlins in that order. (Rodney Knuppel, NESN)
Jake Bennett may or may not make a postseason start. He’s been great relative to expectations this season, but is starting to struggle a bit. Those struggles continued in the early stages of yesterday’s game, but he was saved by some great defense. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
