When the Boston Red Sox announced Braden Montgomery as their first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the 21-year-old had to wheel his way to stage on a knee scooter.
The No. 12 overall pick broke his right ankle in Game 1 of Texas A&M’s Super Regional on June 8. Montgomery used his speed to attempt to score from second base on a single to left field. As he dove into home plate, his foot got caught on the dirt, creating a fracture in his ankle.
After the injury, Montgomery had to sit out and was seen using the same knee scooter he was using during the draft Sunday.
Just over a month after the injury, the outfielder is optimistic about his recovery. Montgomery feels no pain when he walks and once he doesn’t need the scooter, he will start rehabbing from there.
“I’m feeling great,” Montgomery told reporters, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “I’m honestly a little bit ahead of schedule in terms of bone growth. They’re seeing some bone growth where that break was. They let me walk a little bit on it. They’ll really turn the screws loose in two weeks and let me start not having to scoot around. I’ll have free range to walk and start rehabbing. As soon as that happens, it’ll start speeding up even more. I’m feeling great. There’s no pain and everything feels normal in there. “
The Red Sox are not sure if he will miss the rest of the season or will have a shot to come back toward the end.
Typically, draft picks head down to the Florida Complex League in Fort Meyers to start off their professional baseball careers. For Montgomery, he is going to head to Florida and Boston within the next few weeks or days to undergo medical exams.
“I don’t want to be quoted on that because I don’t know,” amateur scouting director Devin Pearson said. “We’ve done as much medical digging as we have but until we get our hands on him, we really don’t know 100% where he’s at.”
The Red Sox will not rush Montgomery back onto the baseball diamond but from his update, he could be making his return ahead of schedule.
