Boston Red Sox: David Price’s Rehab Delayed By Soreness
The Boston Red Sox still don’t know exactly when they’re getting David Price back, though they did slow down his rehab program this week.
The Boston Red Sox are tapping the brakes on the rehab progress of injured left-hander David Price. According to the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham, Price was expected to face live hitters soon, but the team will push that back by at least a week.
Though the initial report suggested the delay was not due to any sort of setback or physical issue, Abraham later added that manager John Farrell said Price had been experiencing some more elbow soreness:
Price will throw a bullpen tomorrow. But Farrell acknowledged the recent slowdown was the result of "soreness." Still, threw hard today.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) April 20, 2017
Price threw 45 pitches in a bullpen session last Saturday and played some long toss yesterday. Per Abraham, he will throw two simulated innings in tomorrow’s bullpen session.
While it sounds like the decision to delay Price’s timetable is one more of precaution than legitimate alarm, recent comments by the All-Star southpaw might not put Red Sox fans much at ease. Price admitted to MassLive.com that he is still not completely certain his elbow injury will not eventually require surgery.
“We’re going to find out,” Price said, though he acknowledged that previous injuries didn’t affect him this long. When pressed for details concerning his rehab program, he simply offered, “I’m not a trainer.”
Price’s elbow first became a problem in Spring Training, and amid news that he would see Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Neal ElAttrache, there was some early fear he might need Tommy John surgery.
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Fortunately for Price and the Red Sox, it soon became clear that would not be the case, at least not in the immediate term. He would begin the season on the DL, however, and likely not make his first start until May.
It’s unclear whether this week’s developments will alter that timeframe significantly. As of now, there is still no concrete date by which Price is expected to return.
Price is hoping to rebound in 2017 after a largely underwhelming first season in Boston. Last year he posted a 3.99 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 4.56 K/BB ratio. The ERA was Price’s highest in a season since 2009. The Red Sox offense boosted him to 17 wins, though, and he remained a workhorse by leading the league with 230 innings. Price’s injury will almost certainly snap his three-year streak of logging 200 or more frames.
The outing most Sox fans will remember, however, is Price’s rough performance in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians. He lasted just 3.1 innings, surrendering five runs on six hits. Boston dropped the game 6-0 on the way to being swept in the series.
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The Red Sox will be encouraged that offseason trade acquisition Chris Sale is more than filling the “ace” role in their rotation right now. He boasts a 1.25 ERA and 0.74 WHIP in 21.2 innings over three starts. But having David Price back – and pitching like David Price – would obviously make the club all the more intimidating to face.
They will hope to have the lefty’s injury situation resolved soon.