Red Sox place Wilyer Abreu on 10-day injured list with ankle sprain - The Boston Globe (2024)

Whether or not Abreu will need more than the minimum number of days is still to be determined.

Abreu, in his first full season in the majors, has been one of the team’s best players, providing an elite bat in the heart of the order combined with exceptional play in right field. He boasts an impressive line of .272/.344/.485 with an .829 OPS and six homers. Defensively, Abreu has been one of the best at his position and was tied for second in the majors with six defensive runs saved in right.

The news only adds to the list of the Sox’ injury woes. The team has 13 players on the IL.

Left fielder Tyler O’Neill (knee) is set to return for Wednesday’s series finale, but since spring training, the Sox have never featured the club at full strength.

Manager Alex Cora maintains his team must continue to push forward.

“I get up [in the morning] and run 4 miles,” Cora said. That’s the way it is. You know, it’s part of it. You can’t stop now. We’ve been good, we’ve been bad, we’ve been OK. But we can’t stop. I’m not going to stop. That’s the attitude we have. There’s no excuses. No feeling sorry for the group.

“We’ve been through this [expletive] for two years and we have to turn the page. We have to be better than [our opponent]. And we’re doing that. I think everybody feels around here — [the media], too, that it’s a different attitude in that clubhouse.”

Slow going for Casas’s recovery

Triston Casas, recovering from a ribcage strain, aimed to return from the 60-day injured list on June 21, the first day he was eligible. However, considering Casas still isn’t swinging a bat, that date is very much unlikely.

Cora revealed that while the first baseman has been taking grounders and working out in the weight room, Casas is still experiencing pain in that area when he swings.

“When he [rotates], he still feels it,” Cora said. So whenever he feels better about it and he doesn’t feel pain, then is the next step. It’s not about treatment or whatever. It just kind of had to heal on its own.”

The Sox have felt the impact of losing Casas, who was a force in the middle of the order in just his second full season. The left handed hitter had a line of .244/.344/.513 with an .857 OPS and six homers in just 22 games prior to the injury.

Yoshida in line for rehab stint

There’s a chance Masataka Yoshida (thumb sprain) will begin a minor league rehab assignment this weekend. The designated hitter’s timetable for a return to the parent club, however, will be based on how he feels.

“I think it’s up to him,” Cora said. “We can speed up the process with [pitching machines] and all that but there’s nothing more realistic than getting at-bats in really game situations. We will see how he reacts from it.”

Hopes rest with Gonzalez

Romy Gonzalez (hamstring strain) is progressing. The Red Sox remain hopeful the utility player will return to the club as soon as he’s eligible to come off the injured list, which would be as soon as Sunday … Hall of Famer and Billerica native Tom Glavine is doing TV work for the Braves for the two-game series. Now 58, Glavine came to Boston a few days ago and has been spending time with family and friends … The NBA’s Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy made a pregame appearance at Fenway, part of its tour of Boston before Thursday’s Game 1 of the Finals between the Celtics and Mavericks at TD Garden … Former Celtics center and current ESPN basketball analyst Kendrick Perkins was also at Fenway. The 2008 NBA champion posed for photos with fans and took batting practice on the field … The Braves signed veteran free agent infielder Brian Anderson to a major league contract and added him to the roster. He was in Triple A with Seattle and opted out of his contract.

Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.