Hanley Ramirez targets Thursday return after MRI on hand comes back clean
Hanley Ramirez took batting practice Monday after the MRI on his left hand came back negative.
Despite not being in the Boston Red Sox lineup for a fifth consecutive game, a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, there's a chance he could return to the diamond in time for the series finale Thursday.
"We'll see how the next day to three days go,'' manager John Farrell said Monday. "The optimistic view is that he'll be back in the lineup while we're here in Toronto."
Ramirez, who hasn't played since being struck in the hand by a line drive off the bat of teammate Xander Bogaerts on Wednesday, owns an .812 OPS (122 OPS+) with 15 home runs in 67 games this season.
In his absence, Alejandro De Aza started in left field, where he's batted .400 (6 for 15) with three home runs in four games.
Given the nature of his injury, Ramirez was skeptical, and borderline hesitant, to swing a bat. But after taking a few rounds at Rogers Centre, he feels like he's progressing well.
"(Ramirez) didn't feel completely confident that everything was cleared up in there,'' Farrell said. "But I think the MRI has given him some peace of mind that there's nothing structurally going on.
"He's dealing with some swelling from the bone bruise and maybe a little bit of residual swelling that's there.''