Romy Gonzalez resumes rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester Tuesday

Romy Gonzalez was back on a rehab track Tuesday with Triple-A Worcester after Boston briefly paused his assignment over the weekend because of soreness in his left hip flexor. The Red Sox have bigger questions than just when he returns to the active roster: they need to see whether Gonzalez can handle regular game intensity again after March surgery on his left, non-throwing shoulder, move cleanly on the infield and keep his timing at the plate.

That is why this latest step matters. Boston had been aiming at a return during the June 25-July 1 homestand, but the club first needed to clear the simple hurdle of getting Gonzalez back on the field after the hip issue interrupted his rehab. He worked out at Fenway Park on June 22, and Chad Tracy said Gonzalez was set to DH on June 23 and was back on track with the rehab assignment.

The process has already given the Red Sox an early data point. In his first rehab game for Double-A Portland on June 16, Gonzalez went 1 for 2 with a two-run home run and a walk, and he played seven innings at second base. That’s the kind of snapshot Boston wants right now: not just whether the bat still flashes, but whether the body can take a normal workload at second base with some first-base reps mixed in.

Tracy has said the club intends to build Gonzalez up in a relatively short series of games rather than force a spring-training volume of at-bats. That approach makes sense after a season lost to injury, but it also leaves little margin for more setbacks. Gonzalez had begun taking batting practice off the Trajekt pitching machine late last week, a sign the bat was coming along before the hip flexor soreness slowed him down.

When Gonzalez was healthy in 2025, he gave Boston a real weapon against lefties, hitting .331 with a .378 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage in 143 plate appearances against southpaws. The line included seven home runs, 10 doubles and two triples, production that helps explain why the Red Sox want him back and why they need Worcester to stress-test him before the next move.