Farrell, Red Sox 'Hopeful' Eduardo Rodriguez Will Be Ready For Start To Season
BOSTON (CBS) -- Breathe easy, Red Sox fans. It appears Eduardo Rodriguez will be OK.
Red Sox manager John Farrell gave an update on the injured starter Wednesday morning, and the news continues to be good for the Boston southpaw. Rodriguez suffered a right knee injury during spring workouts in Fort Myers, Florida on Saturday, but will begin his road to recovery on Wednesday with some light throwing.
Farrell made it sound like the pitcher could return to the mound in the very near future.
"There is still a little bit of swelling in the knee, but improving to the point where we will put a ball in his hand today and he'll being a throwing program on flat ground," Farrell told reporters ahead of Wednesday's Grapefruit League opener against the Twins. "It will be shortened distance, but we feel he has made enough progress to keep his arm moving and keep his arm in shape given the status of where he's at."
Farrell doesn't think the injury will keep Rodriguez from making his first scheduled start when the regular season rolls around, but the team will take a cautious approach with the 22-year-old.
"We think he'll be ready to start the year, but I have to temper that with he'll be out there when he's out of danger," said Farrell. "We don't want to rush it to the point where you're looking at his landing leg. That has to be full strength to support the weight and the momentum coming down the mound, when he's ready to get on the mound.
"There's no time-frame for that first bullpen to happen, but we're still hopeful he'll be ready for the start of the year," added Farrell.
The injury will not play into Farrell setting Boston's rotation at this time, but the manger said he would, "Adjust if I have to."
Rodriguez, acquired from the Baltimore Orioles for reliever Andrew Miller at the 2014 trade deadline, went 10-6 with a 3.85 ERA as a rookie for Boston in 2015.
