Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony making actual progress after cortisone shot in wrist

ATLANTA — Several days after receiving a cortisone shot, Roman Anthony’s sprained right wrist/hand felt markedly better Friday, so much so that he dropped the brace he had been wearing and played catch for the first time since getting hurt.

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“That felt great,” Anthony said before the Red Sox lost to the Braves, 3-2, in 10 innings at Truist Park. “All I know is that the first step was getting out there and the throwing kind of leads into the hitting, so gaining that confidence in throwing [was important].”

Interim manager Chad Tracy said: “Each day … I come in and say, how are we doing? [Anthony says], ‘A little bit better, a little bit better,’ and it’s just slowly improving. So we’ve been slowly progressing forward each and every day, and today he felt pretty good, so that’s a good sign for us.”

The next big step: swinging a bat. The Sox hope Anthony will begin a hitting progression by Sunday, Tracy said. That is noteworthy because he hasn’t been able to comfortably grip a bat with an injured wrist.

Anthony hasn’t played since May 4, when he exited early in a game in Detroit. Initially, the Sox thought they wouldn’t even have to put him on the IL, such was the minor nature of his injury. But when he didn’t get better as quickly as they expected and was officially sidelined, they got him a cortisone shot, which apparently helped.

“It’s probably a part of why the improvement is happening right now,” Tracy said. “Just because you have that doesn’t necessarily mean, ‘Oh, we’re good, let’s go play.’ You still have to do the proper steps and make sure things are going right. But we’re [heading] in the right direction.”

That the Sox allowed him to come on this road trip, which will include a series in Kansas City beginning Monday, was a “great sign,” Anthony said.

“Going on the IL sucks at any point in time. Never want to do that. Sitting around watching baseball games, it’s not what I want to do,” Anthony said. “Obviously, I’m going to do what I can to be the best teammate I can, but for me, it’s about getting out there [and playing].

“I don’t think [the healing] went badly in terms of what I was feeling and how it’s progressed over the last few days. I think I’m in a very good spot and hope to be back in there as soon as possible.”

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Tracy said: “This is probably a lot more engaging than hanging out in the weight room back at Fenway with nobody there, so having him here is important.”

Trevor Story was out of the lineup — for the third time in 17 games since Tracy took over — for the series opener, with Andruw Monasterio filling in at shortstop.

The reason, per Tracy, was the Sox’ late arrival. They got to their hotel around 3:30 a.m. Friday.

“And we are always monitoring Trev with the groin and making sure he’s good, so we felt like today was an appropriate day to give him off,” Tracy said.

The other side of it: Monasterio has been playing well. Although he had gotten into just two games over the previous nine days, he was 4 for 7 with three doubles in those appearances. He went 1 for 4 with a ground-rule double Friday.

“Certainly can’t ignore what he’s done,” Tracy said. “When he’s gotten his opportunities, he has swung the bat well, and you know there’s sometimes when he sits for a few days and comes off and gives you quality bats.”

Lefthander Danny Coulombe tossed a scoreless inning for Double-A Portland to begin a rehabilitation assignment Friday. He has been out since May 4 because of what the team called cervical spasms and what he described as basically a crick in his neck after sleeping funny … Patrick Sandoval (sore biceps) graduated to throwing a bullpen session Friday, Tracy said, in his latest comeback attempt. He is 23 months removed from his most recent game … Waiting at Story’s locker when he arrived at the ballpark Friday: a bottle of (fancy) bourbon, gifted to him by Chris Sale. They bonded over bourbon when they were rehabbing together as Sox teammates in 2022-23.

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