Kyle Schwarber May Start Rehab Assignment With Triple-A Worcester On Thursday
BOSTON (CBS) -- It was less than two weeks ago when the Red Sox acquired Kyle Schwarber. A lot has changed since then, and the deadline acquisition has yet to even step on the field for Boston.
But Schwarber may take his first step toward getting back to big league action with a rehab assignment beginning on Thursday with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox.
"There's a chance he'll be there tomorrow," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said prior to Wednesday's game against the Rays.
The WooSox are at home through the weekend for a series against Syracuse, and all of next week against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, so Schwarber will have plenty of opportunity to rehab close to Boston for the near future.
Schwarber, who was an All-Star with Washington this year, has not played since July 2, due to a hamstring strain.
Prior to the injury, Schwarber batted .253 with 25 home runs and 53 RBIs in 72 games for the Nationals. He's primarily a left fielder, but the Red Sox will try to play him at first base.
Cora did not offer a timetable on how much rehab work Schwarber will need, but the manager said he has high hopes for Schwarber when he does return to the majors.
"We don't know. If it's up to him, he'll probably say hi to to the guys [in Worcester], and then come back and perform. I think we've done everything possible to get him to a spot that offensively he feels right," Cora said. "So there's a guy that you guys saw what happened when they won the World Series, how quick he came back and how good he was when he did what he did when the Cubs won the World Series. So don't bet against him. It's just a matter of he feels great, he moves well, and we'll go from there."
The Red Sox sat in first place when they acquired Schwarber, 1.5 games up on the Rays. They've since gone 2-9, dropping five games behind the Rays and sitting just two games ahead of the Yankees and 2.5 games ahead of the Blue Jays.
