LOWELL — With fans clamoring for the Red Sox to find a long-term starter at shortstop, the permanent solution may have been playing just 33 miles away from Fenway Park at LeLacheur Park last night.
Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie continued his journey back from injury yesterday with his second straight rehab start with Single-A Lowell.
"I'm ready to go," said Lowrie after the Spinners defeated the Aberdeen IronBirds 2-0. "I feel like everything has played out well. I'm feeling great and getting stronger every day. I'm ready to go out there and prove the kind of player I can be.
"Saturday is the first day I can be activated. I will see what they tell me, but we are targeting that day. I am ready."
It was the 14th rehab appearance overall for Lowrie, who has not played in a major league game since April 11 due to wrist surgery for an injury that plagued him for nearly a full year.
"The injury occurred last May 15 against (Triple-A) Buffalo," said Lowrie, who went 0 for 4 yesterday. "A guy slid into my wrist. I got an X-ray and an MRI and nothing showed up. Through the year, it kept getting worse. By the end of the year my grip strength was down to 50 percent. I had a broken the ulnar styloid and I had a full tear of the membrane portion of the scaphoid lunate ligament.
"It's hard enough to play your first season in the majors, and a lot harder with a broken wrist. I had to keep telling myself every day that I was OK."
Despite the injury, Lowrie showed he could perform at the major league level a season ago. After opening the year in Pawtucket, he was promoted to Boston in July after four seasons in the minors when Julio Lugo was lost for the season with a quadriceps injury.
The 25-year-old ended up starting 45 games at shortstop and, after Mike Lowell was injured, he split time with Kevin Youkilis at third base, with 22 starts at the hot corner. In 81 total appearances, he finished with a respectable .258 average with 25 doubles, 46 RBIs and 36 runs.
His biggest hit came on Oct. 8 when he singled home Jason Bay for the walkoff RBI that clinched Boston's ALDS series win over the Los Angeles Angels. He hit .364 for the series.
But he was most impressive in the field. Despite a reputation for lacking range, Lowrie did not commit a single error at shortstop in 155 chances, or in three games at second. He committed just two at third base.
"I was very happy with my performance last year," said Lowrie. "Especially hitting from the right side, I felt great. From the left I think my approach was good, but I wasn't consistent. Defensively, at shortstop, I don't think I could have done much better. And I played more third than I have in my entire life."
Lowrie opened the 2009 season as the starting shortstop, following a hot spring in which he hit a grand slam against the New York Mets, and with Lugo not ready to start the season due to injury. But, after five games, in which he hit just .056 (1 for 18), it was discovered he had again torn the scar tissue holding his injured wrist together, and he would need surgery to correct the injury.
"The surgery worked out well," he said. "The wrist feels good. I hit a little bump on Tuesday after deciding to bump up my exercises a little. But I just have to remember to do my work after games. I feel ready to go."
Lowrie, who was activated from the 60-day disabled list on July 8, will be eligible to rejoin the Red Sox on Saturday. It is unclear how the Sox will handle the move, with shortstops Nick Green and Lugo still on the roster.
But, with Lugo having started just four games since June 14 and struggles in the field, and Green's ability to play multiple positions, Lugo appears the logical man to be let go.
In three rehab games for the Spinners this season, Lowrie is 2 for 11 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. He has also appeared in 10 games for Pawtucket and one for Portland. Overall he has hit .239 with four RBIs.
Lowrie opened his professional career in Lowell, hitting .328 for the Spinners in 2005. In 2007, between Portland and Pawtucket, he was Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year after hitting a combined .298 with 70 RBIs.
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