Adley Rutschman took his first live step with the Red Sox on Saturday, making a rehab appearance for Triple-A Worcester five days after the trade-deadline move that sent him to Boston. The timing matters because the club could decide as soon as Monday whether he is ready to join Boston for its series in Toronto.
Rutschman had been out since July 20 with left wrist inflammation, and Saturday was his first game action since then. He handled four plate appearances, caught five innings and finished 1 for 2 with two RBIs and two walks in Worcester’s 19-0 victory over Lehigh Valley, adding a caught-stealing on the defensive side. He also lined a double into the right-field corner at 104 miles per hour in his final at-bat in the fourth inning to drive in two runs.
The Red Sox have been careful with the ramp-up. Chad Tracy said Friday the plan was for Rutschman to bat two or three times in five innings on Saturday, but Worcester scored 13 runs in the first four innings, sending him back to the plate four times instead. That gave Boston a fuller look at him than the club had expected, and it put the next checkpoint squarely on Sunday, when he is scheduled to serve as Worcester’s designated hitter.
Rutschman said his wrist felt good after the game and said he was happy with how it had been responding, but he also acknowledged the harder part is what comes after the first test. A real game is tougher to copy in workouts, and Boston still wants to see how the wrist responds after he plays before deciding whether he can move on. He was examined by a hand specialist on Wednesday and spent the week rehabbing alongside the big league club at Fenway, part of the steady build toward a return that now hangs on one more day of work.
There was another red-eye through the story. Randy watched from the stands in Worcester after flying from Portland, Ore., to Baltimore on Monday night, helping Adley pack on Tuesday and then driving with him to Boston. For the family, the move has already turned quickly from shock to hope, and Randy said he is holding out for enough progress to make the Toronto trip possible. After Sunday, the organization will decide whether that happens, and for Rutschman the next game may matter more than the last one.
The numbers behind the trade only add to the urgency. Rutschman hit.251 with eight home runs and a.764 OPS in 67 games with the Orioles this season, but he also missed his final 13 games in Baltimore because of the wrist injury. That is why Saturday’s rehab outing was never just another assignment in Worcester. It was the first real measure of whether the Red Sox can count on him now, or whether they have to wait one more turn before Boston makes the call.
