Boston Red Sox' Romy Gonzalez Makes Strong First Impression in Rehab Appearance
The Red Sox have been without the 29-year-old utilityman for the entirety of the 2026 season after offseason surgery
Video Transcript
What's up, everyone?
Zach Coe here for Roundtable at a now empty Fenway Park after the Red Sox's 6-1 loss in Tuesday night's series opener to the Toronto Blue Jays.
It wasn't all bad news for the Red Sox, though, as injured utility man, Rommy Gonzalez, made his first rehab appearance with AA Portland as he works his way back from off-season shoulder surgery.
Gonzalez got three plate appearances in his first game in Portland, going one for two with a two-run home run and working a walk.
Rommy has obviously been seen as a lefty killer in his time with the Red Sox.
Last season, he ranked in the top 10 in nearly every offensive metric against left-handed pitchers, but he also had pretty solid production against right-handed pitchers, and he's gonna need to step into an increased role here upon his return to the big leagues.
Of course, Marcelo Meyer had been handling duties at second base until the sports hernia knocked Trevor Story out until late July, and Isaiah Conforto had been doing a admirable job at second, hitting almost 400 in his first eight games since taking over the position.
But in the games since, he's hitting back down around 200 and simply just not getting the job done.
Gonzalez did miss all of spring training, though, so he's likely to need a pretty extended trip in the minors to rehab from that shoulder surgery.
Of course, the maximum amount of time that a Major League player can spend on a rehab assignment is 20 days, so it won't be longer than about the next month until we see him back in the Red Sox lineup.
