BOSTON -- The Red Sox are banged up.
Boston has dealt with a wealth of injury issues over the last few seasons, so it's really nothing new, but the post-deadline bumps and bruises have been rather aggressive this season. Red Sox manager Alex Cora shouldn't have to contend with many of them for too much longer, though, as he provided positive injury updates on a number of contributors Saturday.
O'Neill was placed on the injured list (retroactive to Aug. 4) due to a leg infection Thursday, making for a relatively odd outlook. Boston doesn't want him doing too much as of right now, but the expectation is that he should be able to return to the lineup as soon as the infection subsides.
"It's just one of those things that sucks, right? We have to make sure we get him going, we get him moving, but he's not doing anything baseball related," Cora said. "He's just getting treatment, and hopefully you can get back as soon as possible."
Casas' return is inching closer and closer, but he still has a few days before he'll return to the lineup. The Red Sox are leaving the final decision up to Casas, but he needs to be reinstated by Aug 19.
"He's playing today. We'll talk to him tonight, just to see how he feels," Cora said. "The quality of his at-bats are good, and he feels like he's getting close, but we'll see. I don't see him playing here tomorrow. I don't see him playing against Texas, but if that changes it changes. I think he's still working on his craft."
Boston will travel to Baltimore next Thursday, which will almost certainly be the series in which Casas rejoins the club.
Criswell was placed on the COVID-related injured list Friday, which is why Josh Winckowski will start Saturday, but the Red Sox expect him to be back as soon as he's eligible to come off the list.
"I think he should be back in around seven days," said Cora.
Slaten's return is expected to give the Red Sox a huge boost in the bullpen, but there isn't much of a concrete timeline in place. Could he return Sunday? Maybe. Will it have to wait until next weekend? Maybe.
"I haven't talked to anyone about it… but he'll probably be here is this week," Cora said. "We talked a little bit yesterday. He feels like he's been able to bounce back, especially the last five-six days."
The Red Sox never placed Pivetta on an injured list because... well, he's not injured. He's just fatigued, and in choosing to skip his turn in the rotation, Cora is hoping the 31-year-old will be able to regain his velocity.
"He threw yesterday. He's throwing a bullpen tomorrow. He feels like he's kind of turned a corner. He felt like the ball was coming out of his hand the right way, and we'll see where
he's at tomorrow velocity-wise. I think that's the concern, right? He's been able to always keep the velocity, but in Texas, 89-90 (mph) wasn't good."
