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Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Justin Slaten has been on the injured list since July 1 with right shoulder inflammation, but manager Alex Cora had a promising update on the 27-year-old righty.
“I don’t know how fast he’s going to go from now on, but the fact that he was able to do that with no red flags is a good first step,” Cora said before the Red Sox took on the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
Cora added that Slaten, who is on the 60-day IL, “touched the rubber” while playing catch from the mound, according to the Boston Globe's Tim Healey.
The Red Sox are targeting an August or September return for him, per MLB.com.
Slaten has only appeared in 68 Major League games over the last two seasons, but has been effective in his time on the mound. In 78.2 career innings, he has a 3.09 ERA with a WHIP under 1.000 and a home run rate of 1.6 percent.
In Slaten's absence, the Red Sox have still developed an effective bullpen, anchored by veteran closer Aroldis Chapman. Greg Weissert has appeared in 50 games and has a 2.93 ERA, while Garrett Whitlock is averaging 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
Any team could benefit from bolstering their relief corps at the upcoming trade deadline, but as Cora said earlier in the week, the Red Sox are in a good position.
“This year, we’re at full force in the bullpen,” he said, per MassLive's Sean McAdam. “You saw it over the weekend, you saw it for the past month and a half. It’s one of the best units in the big leagues. If we [continue], we’re going to be OK.”
The Red Sox enter play on Tuesday with a half-game lead on the Texas Rangers for the final American League wild card spot and are only a game behind their rival New York Yankees for the top spot. The postseason is a realistic goal for the club, aided by a bullpen that might get healthier soon.
