WORCESTER — Beyond the return of Roman Anthony to Polar Park this week, two other Red Sox players found themselves on rehab assignments with Triple-A Worcester.
Infielders Trevor Story (sports hernia) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (forearm) continued their comebacks from injuries as the WooSox hosted a six-game series.
After both Story (out since May 15) and Kiner Falefa (out since June 19) were checked out by Red Sox staff in Boston on Monday, the two suited up for Worcester the past two days.
While Anthony (finger) stole Tuesday's three-headed rehab showcase with a two-run homer in the WooSox' 8-5 win over Scranton/WB, all three struggled a bit during the WooSox' 7-1 loss on Wednesday.
Anthony went 0 for 4 with a strikeout, Kiner-Falefa went 0 for 2 with two walks and an RBI, and Story was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
Story has now played in seven games at shortstop and one game as designated hitter. The veteran shortstop is now 4 for 29 (.137) with 10 strikeouts.
"Feeling good," Story told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe on Tuesday. "Feeling like getting the last bit of the game legs under me, and so overall, feeling good. Just trying to go out there and put together one or two more games. We'll see. But overall, feeling really good about it."
Kiner-Falefa, meanwhile, has played in two games at shortstop and four games at second base, going 2 for 18 (.125) with six strikeouts.
"I feel good. I feel healthy. I just feel like I need a little more games," Kiner-Falefa told Chris Cotillo of MassLive. "I think the team's done a great job to put ourselves in a great position. And yeah, just looking down the stretch, I feel like a couple extra games would do me well to get closer to where I was."
While Red Sox reinforcements wait in the wings in Worcester, many fans and pundits are wondering why the club would call up Anthony, Kiner-Falefa and Story amid Boston's recent winning streak.
Kiner-Falefa poured some cold water on those talks, however, seemingly sacrificing himself until rosters expand on Sept. 1 when the Red Sox can add two more players to their active roster.
"I just don't want to rush. I know to win the World Series, I'm going to have to be the best version of myself, and if not the best version, close to it," Kiner-Falefa said. "So yeah, I'm looking at the big picture, and I think the best thing for me is to get extra games."
Story also added his two cents on how the impending return of rehabbers like him, Anthony and Kiner-Falefa affects the likes of current Red Sox players (like Mickey Gasper, Andruw Monasterio, Anthony Seigler and Nick Sogard) who have stepped up in their absence.
"Those guys have played really well, and did their job at a really high level," Story said. "So it's given us a little bit of a cushion to, if I don't feel 100 percent sharp, it's okay to take a couple extra (days) and really make sure that the body feels good. And I feel like I owe it to the team, owe it to myself, everybody involved with this thing to come back and be the best version of myself realistically within the timeframe that we do have.
"So that's kind of how I feel about it."
On Aug. 16, while on an off day and visiting the Red Sox before their home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Story hinted at returning to the club last Friday. Then, before his latest rehab on Tuesday, Story acknowledged that it would be nice to return to the Red Sox this Friday when they play the New York Yankees in the Bronx.
"It’s really just based on how I'm feeling. It’s always different with different injuries coming back, and I've had my experiences with those, so I feel like I have a good beat on when I feel like I'm ready," Story said. "Putting the last bit of sharpness on it with the ABs and the plays in the field and running the bases. It's really just kind of volume at this point, being able to sustain it, so that when we do get back, we can let it go."
While many assume Anthony will go to New York to join the Red Sox for a four-games series in the Bronx starting Friday, there's still uncertainty of when all three Red Sox rehabbers will rejoin Boston.
"I'm ready for whatever they need me to do," Kiner-Falefa said.
—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: More on rehabs for Roman Anthony, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Trevor Story
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