TORONTO -- Even in mid-September, the Red Sox continue to make additions to the roster.
The hope is that rookie outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who's missed the last few weeks with a sprained left knee, could be activated when the Red Sox return to Boston after this weekend series in Toronto
Benintendi has been with the team on the current three-city, nine-game, 10-day road trip and continues to increase physical activity.
”Today was a very good day for him,” reported manager John Farrell, “It feels like he's running at about 100 percent intensity. The one last thing with baserunning is just getting him to slide. So, we'll look to get him on a sliding pad (Saturday) at the earliest. It doesn't give us any more clarity as to when he might first be activated, but the fact that he's had no pushback from the knee in the ramping up of work -- he's in a good spot right now.”
Farrell emphasized that the Sox aren't entirely sure when Benintendi will be activated.
Nor would he say how Benintedni might be used when he returns. The Sox have Chris Young and Brock Holt in left field, with Travis Shaw an option to play there as well.
“We'll work through that based on the matchups, day-to-day,” Farrell said of the logjam.
Boston Red Sox
The Sox also called up lefty Henry Owens, giving them 35 players on the active roster. Owens is here essentially as a long man, someone who could give the Sox multiple innings if a starter were to be injured in a game, or be knocked out of the game early.
“We'll keep him stretched out as best possible,” Farrell said. “We brought him here to provide some starter depth if something unforeseen should take place. So that will be a little bit of a challenge to keep him stretched out. This past Monday was his last outing. We'll have to be creative to do that.
”He's understanding of his role, coming here.”
One idea to give Owens some work would be to set up a simulated game in the next few days.
”With the number of guys here,” Farrell said, “we could easily set up a three- or four-inning sim game to keep him stretched out. As long as time allows on a given day, we've got plenty of bodies.”