McAdam: Steven Wright returns to Red Sox, but questions linger

Almost exactly halfway through the season, Steven Wright arrived in the Red Sox clubhouse Tuesday.

His tardiness had nothing to do with his pitching, or the state of the Red Sox' pitching staff, though the team hopes he will positively impact the latter.

Instead, Wright's late arrival was mandated by Major League Baseball's joint drug agreement, which Wright violated at some point last offseason. He failed a PED test over the winter, and appeals exhausted, was suspended in spring training for 80 games. He's also ineligible to participate in the postseason, should the Red Sox qualify.

On one hand, Wright is a welcome addition to the team. The bullpen has been overworked in recent weeks, having to provide far more innings than usual thanks to a spate of extra-inning games and some ineffective performances from some starters. Wright's ability to provide multiple innings of relief could have a domino effect on the rest of the pen.

But even now, there are questions about Wright's durability. He underwent a procedure on his left knee several years ago similar to the surgery performed on Dustin Pedroia. And like Pedroia, Wright has not been the same since. He's had several stints on the IL, and last year, after the World Series, had a follow-up procedure.

He's had several months in extended spring training to rehab the knee further, and over the last few weeks, on a rehab stint at Pawtucket, experienced no issues with the knee.

But for now, the Red Sox are planning to use him in relief only, fearful that the knee would not hold up under the demands of six or more innings and 90 or more pitches. And there is the looming specter of Pedroia, currently home in Arizona and likely contemplating the end of his playing career.

"So far, it's been feeling really good,'' Wright said of the knee. "I don't think you can go out there and think about (what's going on with Pedroia). I feel like if you do, something else is going to go wrong. For me, obviously paying attention with him, but let's face it, I'm a pitcher and he's not. So it's a lot harder to go out there and cut and run and swing a bat. He puts a lot more pressure in his knee than I do."

But Wright acknowledged he has his doubts about being able to perform as a starting pitcher again.

"It's hard to say,'' he said. "We went through that last year and I think that's where the concern comes in. I tried starting and we had a pretty big setback and ultimately it led to another surgery. So I definitely share (the team's) concern, because it's unknown. I'd love to sit here and (say) 'Yeah, for sure,' but it didn't work out. So for me, I just want to go out there and just pitch and do the best I can under the (relief) role and if I do get the opportunity and I can, great. But I'd rather do what the team needs, and right now, they want me in the bullpen."

If health were the only issue here, that would be one thing. But it's not.

There's also the matter of Wright's failed PED test.

In the Red Sox clubhouse, a number of fellow pitchers have been outspoken in the past about players who have been caught using PEDs. As Wright spoke to a group of reporters Tuesday, in fact, Chris Sale walked by, wearing a T-shirt that read "All Me'' on the front, and "Train Hard, Eat Right, Play Fair'' on the back.

It's doubtful that Sale was trying to troll Wright, or send any sort of passive-aggressive message -- he frequently wears the shirt underneath his uniform. But it served as a reminder that a possible divide exists. Meanwhile, Rick Porcello has also voiced his unhappiness with those who resort to PEDs and said in the spring that Wright owed the team an explanation.

Toward that end, Wright took it upon himself to address the team in a players-only meeting in spring training, an experience Tuesday he labeled "probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."

As with many others who have been suspended under the program, Wright maintained in the spring -- and again Tuesday -- that his positive test was a surprise and that he didn't knowingly take a banned substance. In March, Wright said he was enlisting the help of some specialists to determine how it was something turned up in his system.

But he added that was now a moot point.

"It falls on me,'' he conceded. "I wasn't as careful as I should be.''

What's not known is how Wright will be received in the clubhouse, in the dugout and on the field. Alex Cora hinted that the situation is not optimal.

"It is what it is,'' he said of the situation. "We know that there’s still people out there that do it. I think MLB has done an outstanding job of trying to clean up the game. The penalty is harsh. There’s people that take chances and they pay the price.”

Wright has served his suspension, and emerged from exile. How the rest of his season unfolds -- on the mound, and with his teammates -- will be worth watching.