Ceddanne Rafaela, who has mostly been a model of perfect health throughout his short big league career, missed last night’s win in Baltimore with a tight right quad. He’s not going on the IL at this point, but given that there isn’t that much on the line for the rest of the season, he’s going to get plenty of time off to get better. We’ll essentially be day to day,“ said Chad Tracy. ”He’s going to get treatment like crazy, and we’ll be day to day to see how he feels and how he’s progressing… we’ll get a better idea
over the next couple of days of how much improvement you’re seeing, and that’ll be easier to answer. But right now, we’re not going to put them out there until we see good improvement.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
Thankfully, the injury news isn’t all bad. Tanner Houck pitched in a Bridge League game this week (what the hell is the Bridge League?) and will throw another simulated game today. If everything goes well, he hopes to start a rehab assignment next week. Meanwhile, Garrett Crochet will also throw his first bullpen session today, but it sounds like he’s much further behind Houck. “I don’t think it’ll be an excessive amount of pitches,” Tracy said. “This is first time off the slope, actually pitching off the slope, not just playing catch. So we’ll see how that goes. Hopefully it goes well and we’ll progress him from there.” (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
I’m not getting my hopes up about either Houck or Crochet being big contributors down the stretch. But that said, the pitching does seem to need a refresher right about now. (Scott McLaughlin, WEEI)
If Tanner Houck does make it back and finds a way to contribute to the postseason, that that will have been quite the journey, considering that he’s been MIA for over a calendar year. But no Red Sox journey is more impressive than that of Mickey Gasper, who initially signed for just $5,000. The scout who signed him isn’t surprised at his ascent, though. “There’s certain things you’re drawn to as a scout, and one is this common thread of makeup, and the desire to be at the park and put the work in and just never give up,” said Matt Hyde. “Even getting sent back down to Worcester and then being brought back up and hitting another home run, it’s like, ‘Yeah, that’s no surprise.’” (Tyler Kepner, The Athletic)
Last night, though, it was Adley Rutschman, not Gasper, playing home run hero. Of course it was fitting that his breakout game with the Sox happend at Camden Yards. “The people of Baltimore have always treated me with an unbelievable amount of respect and love,” he said. “I always felt that when I was here.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Baltimore is where Rutschman started his big league career, but it’s not where he began in baseball. That would be Oregon, where he comes from a family of baseball legends. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
