Good health is on the horizon for Red Sox starting pitchers.
Nick Pivetta (elbow) pitched three innings for Triple A Worcester Thursday evening, and yielded three hits, four runs, four walks, and struck out five.
And Brayan Bello will make his start for Double A Portland.
Moreover, Garrett Whitlock (left oblique strain), who had been slow to progress, played catch Thursday and will throw a bullpen Saturday.
“I’m feeling really good,” said Whitlock following the Red Sox’ 3-1 loss to the Giants in Thursday’s series finale at Fenway Park. ”The doctors gave me the green light to start throwing.”
Whitlock went to the injured list April 17. He tried to persuade manager Alex Cora and the medical staff that he could pitch through it, but the club shut down.
“The whole thing was frustrating,” said Whitlock. “Just like me thinking I can power through this. And the doctors were like, no, this isn’t something that you power through. Like, it’s still really early in the season and this is an actual injury.”
Once Whitlock began throwing again, he still felt pain in his side. But the Sox kept his arm moving to ensure that he wouldn’t be too far behind. Now, he is finally beginning to feel like himself again.
And for what it’s worth, what was left of the rotation/pitching staff continued to perform, leading the majors with a 2.58 ERA.
“It’s a testament to the depth that we have, and to those guys,” said Whitlock. “They’re showing themselves to be real big leaguers and it’s awesome.
Yoshida could need surgery
The Sox placed Masataka Yoshida on the 10-day injured list with a left thumb strain Wednesday (retroactive to April 29). Yoshida won’t return for the start of the next homestand next Friday. He underwent further testing Wednesday, and the team is still gathering information. When asked Thursday if surgery were a possibility, Cora didn’t rule it out. “That’s why I was saying we’re going to gather information and we’ll decide what’s next for him,” he said. Yoshida won’t be on the trip to Minnesota for the series against the Twins.
Short on active roster
The Red Sox added Zack Short to the active roster for Thursday’s series finale. Short played second base, going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.
To make room for Short, the Sox optioned Enmanuel Valdez to Triple A Worcester. Valdez hit just .156/.187/.452 with two homers in 98 plate appearances. However, Cora was encouraged about his progress, particularly defensively at second.
“It was night and day defensively,” said Cora. “He did an amazing job. Everything that we asked him to do in the offseason, he did.
“It started with the program with [former third base coach] Carlos [Febles]. He did an outstanding job defensively. Offensively, he hit the ball hard in the air. He’s a good at-bat. You see the at-bat, you probably thought that he was hitting .280 with an .850 OPS.”
The .280 average and .850 OPS might be a stretch. But the defensive progress was evident for Valdez, who seemed virtually unplayable at second last year. Now Cora wants to challenge him.
“This is something against what I wanted last year; last year I wanted him to concentrate on second base,” said Cora. “We talked about it and we’re going back to versatility. He’s moving around. He’ll play first, probably third, maybe reintroduce him to the outfield like in Houston, because the more versatile he is, the faster he’ll get back to us. We like the at-bat. We really do.”
Valdez’s limited versatility presumably led to his demotion over David Hamilton. Valdez has been solely a second baseman, limiting Cora’s roster flexibility and ability to mix and match during games.
As it pertains to Short, who can bounce around multiple infield positions, the Sox will use him in a similar manner as Pablo Reyes.
“He can play all over the infield,” said Cora. “Good defender, good baserunner. Versatility and the defense is something that we want to have from him. He’s done that throughout his career.”
Dalbec sent to Triple A
Bobby Dalbec was optioned to Worcester after Thursday’s game, making room for second baseman Vaughn Grissom, whom the club will reinstate from the IL ahead of Friday’s contest … Tanner Houck will take the ball against Chris Paddack in the series opener against the Twins Friday. Saturday will be a bullpen game for the Sox, with Pablo Lopez on the hill for the Twins. Cooper Criswell will start in the series finale Sunday vs. Joe Ryan … Naoyuki Uwasawa made his major league debut for the Sox Thursday, pitching the final two innings in scoreless fashion without yielding a hit while striking out one.
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.