David Ortiz Begins Minor League Rehab Assignment Following Achilles Injury

David Ortiz hasn’t served as the Boston Red Sox’s designated hitter since suffering an Achilles injury eight month ago. Now the MLB All-Star is finally getting his chance to play ball.

Ortiz joined the Pawtucket Red Sox on Thursday night for a positive minor league rehab assignment.

Speaking about his chance to rehab, Ortiz told reporters:

“Come down here and get the engine going. It’s been good lately. I’m finally seeing good results.”

Ortiz tried to get healthy during spring training but was ultimately shut down by the Red Sox:

“Right after they shut me down and treating everything differently, I started to feel better. I had a lot of inflammation down there, so the main key was to get rid of it and it’s working pretty good.”

Ortiz took part in a simulated game Monday in Fort Myers, Florida and took part in an extended spring training game on Tuesday.

Ortiz was showing no ill effects from his injury as he took part in batting practice on Thursday. When asked about getting his timing back, Ortiz explained:

“I wasn’t worried about that, to be honest with you. Down there, I was more afraid about getting hit. The kids getting excited down there. I remember those days when I played down there, when you see a Major League Baseball player you get excited and sometimes you try to do too much, but everything went well and everybody was under control. When I was down there, I wanted to just put the ball in play and try to run — that was my goal down there. My idea was to put the ball in play and take off running just to see how it feels.”

Do you think David Ortiz has what it takes to make a big comeback after eight months out of service?