Alex Cora Shares Injury Updates on Red Sox Stars Chris Sale, Trevor Story

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora met with the media ahead of Tuesday's game against the Atlanta Braves, and he shared plenty of details on several players' injury statuses.

The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey compiled all of Cora's main talking points on Twitter, including updates on ace Chris Sale, shortstop Trevor Story and pitchers Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock.

Cora said Sale has an up-and-down session scheduled for Thursday in Worcester, and that he could begin a rehab assignment as soon as next week.

Sale was initially placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation on June 2, and he was moved to the 60-day injured list on June 9. As a result, he is not eligible to return to Boston's major league roster until Aug. 1.

The perennial Cy Young contender was 5-2 with a 4.28 ERA, 1.186 WHIP and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings this season, although he has struggled to remain on the mound since his five-year, $145 million extension kicked in back in 2020. Sale has appeared in just 22 games, throwing 107.1 innings, over the past four seasons.

Story has yet to appear in a Red Sox uniform at all in 2023 as a result of the UCL surgery he underwent in January. The shortstop, who has been on the 60-day injured list since Feb. 16, was assigned to Double-A Portland for a rehab assignment on July 21.

Through three games, Story is hitting .250 with a home run, two walks, three RBI and a 1.025 OPS.

Cora said Story is slated to make three more starts with Triple-A Worcester, playing shortstop on Tuesday and Thursday and designated hitter on Wednesday. According to Cora, the Red Sox would be willing to call Story up this coming weekend if he tells his coaches that he feels ready.

Story only played in 94 games for Boston in 2022 – the first year of his own six-year, $140 million megadeal – hitting .238 with 16 home runs, 66 RBI, 13 stolen bases and a .737 OPS.

Cora also told reporters that Houck and Whitlock have bullpen sessions scheduled within the next two days.

Houck has a 5.05 ERA across 13 starts this season, and he has not pitched since suffering a facial fracture in mid-June. Four years into his career, Houck has a 2.68 ERA and 1.137 WHIP as a reliever compared to a 3.99 ERA and 1.175 WHIP as a starter.

Whitlock, similarly to Houck, posted a 5.23 ERA in 10 starts between multiple injured list appearances this year. The right-hander, who has been dealing with right elbow inflammation, has a 2.24 ERA and 0.994 WHIP in 68 career relief appearances compared to a 4.76 ERA and 1.290 WHIP in his 19 outings as a starter.

The Red Sox have resorted to using openers such as Brennan Bernardino and John Schreiber this summer due to their thinned out starting rotation, but Houck and Whitlock's pasts suggest they should return to the bullpen when fully healthy. After all, Boston moved right-hander Nick Pivetta into a relief role in mid-May, and he has a 2.25 ERA and .121 batting average against ever since.

As for Story, the Red Sox just traded their starting shortstop, Kiké Hernandez, to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a pair of pitching prospects. The starting shortstop job is now essentially wide open, with Yu Chang and Pablo Reyes currently platooning at the position.

The Red Sox will not have any of these injured players available for their brief two-game home set against the Braves. Game one was scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m. ET before a rain delay settled in.

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