Despite a scary hip injury setback during his rehab assignment, the Boston Red Sox don't have much longer to wait for Romy Gonzalez's return to action. The utility player underwent shoulder surgery during spring training and his two-plus month recovery is finally nearing its end.
Gonzalez told reporters, including Chris Cotillo of MassLive that he expects to need just a few more days of his rehab assignment before he can be activated for the first time in 2026. He's reportedly targeting a return on Saturday, June 27 for a specific reason.
“I’m trying to push for Saturday to be activated,” Gonzalez said at Polar Park during the Triple-A portion of his rehab assignment. “We’ll see what happens. Definitely, I want to be (there) Sunday with [Carlos] Rodón going Sunday. I want to be in the lineup.”
It's nice to hear Gonzalez's excitement about getting back in action since the Red Sox have struggled so severely on offense this year. Gonzalez could bring serious energy to Boston's lineup, evidenced by his breakout 2025 season during which he slashed .305/.343/.483 over 96 games.
Romy Gonzalez hopes to return to Red Sox from rehab assignment in time to face Carlos Rodón
Over the weekend of Gonzalez's expected return, Rodón and the New York Yankees will play a four-game series at Fenway Park. Not only have the Sox not been successful at home (12-25), they're 1-4 against the Yankees this season.
Gonzalez likely singled Rodón out because of his history of success against lefty pitching. Gonzalez batted .331/.378/.600 against southpaws last season but went just 1-for-7 against Rodón. His one hit was a double and he's also logged an RBI. The Red Sox will miss the other lefty in the Yankees' rotation, Ryan Weathers, as he pitched against the Detroit Tigers on June 24. Max Fried is on the injured list with a bone bruise in his elbow.
Gonzalez got off to a hot start in his rehab assignment with a home run in his first game with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. He's since cooled down a bit with just one more hit over three games. It could take the versatile infielder some time to warm up to playing every day, as he never went through spring training due to his injury.
Still, it won't take much to shock this Red Sox infield into action, and after a potential injury to the scorching Caleb Durbin, the Sox need all the help they can get. Hopefully, Gonzalez can channel some of his production from last year to help the Red Sox finally beat the Yankees.
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