BOSTON — Trent Grisham could be about a week away from returning to the Yankees.
The center fielder met the team at Fenway Park on Thursday and is set to go through a full slate of baseball activities during this series — he did some defensive work in the outfield and took batting practice before Thursday’s series opener — before likely going out on a rehab assignment.
Grisham, who has been on the injured list since June 13 with a moderate right hamstring strain, has a chance to return sooner than the Yankees initially expected if he can get through the final steps of his recovery without issue.
“He’s doing really well,” manager Aaron Boone said Thursday. “It’s been encouraging. He’ll probably hit the bases … a couple times this weekend while we’re here. But he’s getting close.”
Grisham will then “probably” play in at least a rehab game or two, Boone said, to make sure he is all good to cover center field before making his return.
Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice advanced to the second phase of All-Star voting Thursday, giving them a chance to start for the American League in the Midsummer Classic next month in Philadelphia (though Judge would obviously not be ready to play in the game because of his rib injury).
In the first phase of fan voting, Judge received the most votes of any AL outfielder while Bellinger finished fourth (the top six outfielders advanced).
Rice, meanwhile, finished second among AL first basemen, receiving just over half as many votes as Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Rice and Guerrero will be pitted against each other (as will the six outfielders) for the starting honor in the next round of voting, which concludes July 2.
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Paul Goldschmidt, who led off the game with a double against Red Sox lefty Connelly Early, is batting .418 with a 1.323 OPS in 79 at-bats against lefties.
After the game, the Yankees optioned J.C. Escarra to Triple-A, clearing the way for Ali Sánchez to be activated off the paternity list Friday.
This marks the second Yankees-Red Sox series since Alex Cora got fired, but Boone — who said he has spoken to his friend and former counterpart “a couple times” since he was let go — indicated it was still strange not to see him in the dugout across the field.
“Alex always had such a big presence to him that it definitely was a little bit different,” Boone said.
Fernando Cruz — who did not pitch Thursday — has stranded 28 of his 32 inherited runners this season, including 24 of his past 25 since April 25.
