The Boston Red Sox appear ready to welcome back two important bats for the stretch run.
Boston is expected to activate outfielder Roman Anthony and shortstop Trevor Story from the injured list ahead of Sunday's series finale against the New York Yankees. Interim manager Chad Tracy said both players are en route to New York after making what was presumably their final rehab appearances at Triple-A earlier Saturday.
The Red Sox haven't made the transactions official yet because they'll need to make multiple roster moves to get Anthony and Story back on the active roster. Both players are currently on the 60-day IL, meaning the club will need to clear spots on the 40-man roster.
"They're coming," Tracy said after his team's doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, per NESN. "Not sure what we're doing yet (with the roster). We'll figure that out. But obviously they went through everything, and we'll figure out what we're gonna do there."
When asked if they'd be active for Sunday's game, Tracy responded: "We're still gonna talk about that."
Both Anthony and Story have been sidelined since May. Anthony sprained his wrist during an at-bat on May 4, while Story underwent surgery for a sports hernia later in the month.
Anthony, a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year last season, posted a .675 OPS with one homer and five RBIs in 130 plate appearances this year before getting hurt. The 22-year-old hit .280/.367/.600 over eight rehab games in August between Double-A and Triple-A.
Story, 33, had a less successful rehab stint statistically, slashing .171/.189/.200 in 37 plate appearances with Worcester. However, the 11-year veteran did record a hit in Saturday's game.
The pair will provide some extra thump in a Red Sox lineup that's done pretty well without them. Story's return adds stability at shortstop, where Boston has cycled between five players without him. Andruw Monasterio and Nick Sogard have been manning the position lately.
Anthony can ease back into the lineup as the designated hitter instead of returning to left field. He'll take over from the platoon of Mickey Gasper and Jahmai Jones, who've been covering the DH slot for the last few weeks after Masataka Yoshida got hurt.
"I think it's really important for us to get those guys back. We need them," first baseman Willson Contreras said, according to MassLive's Christopher Smith.
"But it's also important to recognize the job or the work that the whole line has been put in for the last three months. ... I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but we do have to recognize the job that the guys are doing for this team, and we couldn't have done what we've done without them."
Once active, the pair will rejoin a Red Sox team that rocketed up the standings while they were absent. Boston is holding the No. 5 seed in the American League and is three games back of the second-place Yankees in the AL East.
