Red Sox get good news on Curtis Mead’s potential return

Most of the focus over the last few weeks on the Red Sox’ injury front has revolved around names like Roman Anthony, Garrett Crochet, and Trevor Story.

But an already surging Boston roster could receive another major boost just before the calendar flips to October if Curtis Mead returns to the Red Sox lineup.

Boston acquired Mead from the Washington Nationals in July as part of a one-for-one swap for Connelly Early, but the slugging infielder has only logged two plate appearances since joining his new club. 

In his debut with Boston on July 27, Mead suffered a broken wrist after getting struck during a check swing against the Athletics. That injury reportedly had a tentative recovery timeline of 6-8 weeks, which could bring Mead back into the fold just before the end of the regular season. 

Even though Boston is still in the early stages of mapping out Mead’s next steps, the Red Sox did have some good news to offer up on Tuesday.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told Chris Smith of MassLive that Mead has shed the hard cast covering that wrist after undergoing a four-week follow-up imaging test. 

“He’s healed enough, progressing in the healing where they could take him out of the hard cast and put him in the splint,” Tracy told Smith.

Even though Mead has taken a promising step forward, Tracy stressed that Mead is still fighting the clock to get the green light to play in 2026. 

“He can start some mobility exercises,” Tracy said. “So that’s good news. It’s still a ways off. He’s been locked up for a while. So he’s still gotta incorporate movement, mobility and strength. But he has moved on to that phase.”

However, Boston’s interim manager noted that Mead has not been ruled out for this year — especially if he continues to stack positive weeks over the final 30 games of the regular-season campaign. 

“I know that’s just step one and there’s still a good bit of time here after this comes off and what he’s got to do just to get it strong enough to even begin baseball activities,” Tracy said. “So [there’s] hope, but we’ve still got to temper that hope and just see if everything goes well with the next steps.”

The return of Mead to Boston’s lineup would be a welcome sight for the Red Sox. 

The Australian native was in the midst of a breakout season with the Nationals before arriving in Boston — batting .256 with 17 home runs, 48 RBI, and an .852 OPS over 87 games in Washington this year.

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.