The updates on Red Sox' stars are getting more encouraging

It was a sight so many have been waiting months to see: Garrett Crochet, in full uniform, pitching off the Fenway Park mound.

OK... so it wasn't in a game. But the 25-pitch bullpen Friday afternoon was the next step in the Red Sox ace's long road back from a left shoulder injury. And, just as importantly, the reports afterwards were positive.

"Looked good," interim manager Chad Tracy said. "Added in some sweepers, which was good. I think last time he added in cutters. He added some sweepers, so he keeps adding pitch types, and looked good. Just briefly checked in with him, and he said he felt good, which is good news."

Tracy said he wasn't directly monitoring Crochet's velocity, but that he was told his fastball was consistently around 92.5 mph, which was up from his previous bullpen session.

Crochet told reporters that he got what he wanted from Friday's session.

"It was good. Accomplished what I wanted to," Crochet said. "Kind of keep ticking up intensity. Introduce the sweeper. General strike-throwing as well. ... Everything's kind of generally where I want it, I'd say."

Crochet and Tracy both said that nothing definitive has been decided in terms of Crochet's next step, but Tracy said he could throw again on Tuesday, in some form, as long as he feels good over the next few days.

"We're still in, like, check one box at a time," Tracy said. "Not, 'Oh, he threw off a mound. Let's rush Garrett back.' We're very mindful of what he can bring, and also very mindful of what he means for the future. So, as long as we keep taking steps forward, we're in a good spot. He took another one today, and we'll see how he does over the course of next week as well."

The Red Sox and Crochet have already acknowledged that there's not enough time for him to truly get stretched out before the playoffs, but the hope remains that the 2025 Cy Young runner-up could make it back in time to help out of the bullpen.

Meanwhile, there were also encouraging updates on two other Red Sox stars who are even closer to a return: Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela.

Contreras has been on the injured list since Aug. 31 with a hamstring strain, but will begin a rehab assignment Friday night with Double-A Portland. He will be the designated hitter on Friday and then play first base on Saturday. The Red Sox will reassess him after that before deciding if he's ready to return.

Rafaela is on the IL with a quad strain. He is eligible to return after this weekend; Tracy said that while he may not be ready to return when first eligible, the center fielder is "getting close."

"Everything is progressing nicely," Tracy said. "The biggest thing with Rafa right now is making sure that -- obviously the medical staff does all kinds of strength testing -- making sure the strength numbers are in the appropriate spot before they really ramp up sprint exposure. He is running right now, jogging, not high intent running. Hitting, throwing, all that's good. But until that strength number gets where they want it, that's when they'll ramp sprint exposure. And once he does that for two, three days, hopefully we'll have him. So we'll check in again after after this weekend's over. I'm sure they'll do another round of testing to see where the strength numbers are at, and that'll determine when they ramp up sprinting."

The one negative injury update Friday was regarding outfielder Eli White, who was placed on the 10-day IL with a right foot ligament injury suffered Tuesday when he jammed the foot in the center field wall.

Tracy said White was still undergoing more testing, but that they know he's going to miss "a length of time." White is currently on crutches with his foot in a boot.

"The IL part was fairly obvious over the course of the last couple days," Tracy said. "In a lot of discomfort. It was pretty apparent he's not going to be able to play for a bit, but they are still working through to determine the full severity of everything."

With Rafaela and White both on the shelf, Jarren Duran is in center field Friday night, with Roman Anthony in left and Wilyer Abreu in right.