Red Sox Injury Update: Steve Pearce “close to activation”, others progressing

The Red Sox have been affected by injuries, but their players are reportedly progressing. Let’s look at what is going on for their injured players:

The Boston Red Sox have been without key players Mitch Moreland and Nathan Eovaldi as well as Steve Pearce and Steven Wright for some time now but they are each making progress.

Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweeted an update on them and their recovery processes.

1B Steve Pearce

Pearce is “close to activation.” He is currently on a rehab stint down at Triple-A Pawtucket with a strained lower back on June 1.

Prior to going on the 10-day IL, Pearce struggled mightily with the Red Sox this season. He hit just .180 with one home run and nine RBIs through 29 games. He has also struck out in 31 percent of his plate appearances thus far.

While down in the Minors, Pearce has had slightly more success than in the Majors with a .231/.267/.308 slash line through four games.

The Red Sox called up Sam Travis in his absence, who has not impressed in his eight games in Boston this year. He has a -11 OPS through 24 at-bats with a 29 percent strikeout rate.

1B Mitch Moreland

Moreland went on the 10-day IL back on May 29 for a lower back strain before making one start and heading right back on the IL with a right quad strain on June 9.

The veteran first baseman has been a key cog in the Red Sox offense this year, providing much of their early spark. He has 13 home runs with 34 RBIs and a .859 OPS through 47 games.

When he does get activated, it’s possible Moreland could share time at first base with Michael Chavis, but there is little reason for that. They have had similar seasons thus far, and both struggle against left-handed pitching. Chavis has more positional flexibility, so unless Moreland needs an off day, he should be spending time at second or third.

RHP Nathan Eovaldi

After his heroic postseason performances last year, the fireballer had returned to normalcy with a 6.00 ERA through four games before his injury. He went on the IL after requiring surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow on April 18.

Boston will be hoping that he can bring some of the magic he found late last season once he is fully healthy. Now that he has started a throwing program and “will start building up soon”, things are on the up-and-up it seems.

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Once he is healthy, he has the potential to help an up-and-down Red Sox staff. Starters Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez have been vastly inconsistent, but have been solid recently.

RHP Steven Wright

Wright’s Red Sox career has been marked with controversy since he first went on the disabled list in 2017 after then-manager John Farrell sent him out to pinch-run in San Francisco. Since then, Wright has served a 15-game domestic violence suspension and an 80-game PED suspension for testing positive for growth hormone this off-season.

The knuckleballer is ineligible for the postseason but can play the remaining 82 games after his activation next Tuesday.

Wright has a 3.77 career ERA through 75 games and he was named to the All-Star team in 2016. Last year, he put up a 2.68 ERA in 20 games, mostly out of the bullpen which is where he will be when he returns.

The Red Sox will be happy to have all of these players back when they return, they are important pieces that can only help them down the stretch. Pearce will need to find his swing again fairly soon, however, as he has really disappointed this year after a blazing playoff performance. Eovaldi and Wright will help sure up the pitching staff as they provide wildly different looks from any other pitcher Boston has.