'We’re in a really good spot': Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten feels healthy following rehab stint with AAA Worcester

Justin Slaten gets ready to throw a pitch during his rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester on May 6, 2026, at Polar Park.

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Photos: Justin Slaten makes rehab start with WooSox

Justin Slaten gets ready to throw a pitch during his rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester on May 6, 2026, at Polar Park.

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'We’re in a really good spot': Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten feels healthy following rehab stint with AAA Worcester

Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten flashes a smile during his rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester on May 6, 2026, at Polar Park.

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'We’re in a really good spot': Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten feels healthy following rehab stint with AAA Worcester

Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten fires a pitch during his rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester on May 6, 2026, at Polar Park.

WORCESTER — Justin Slaten cleared another hurdle in his return to the Boston Red Sox.

In his second rehab stint since landing on the injured list with a right oblique strain on April 5, Slaten pitched one inning for the WooSox Wednesday and allowed one hit, one walk and struck out two.

Slaten threw 18 pitches (11 for strikes) and topped out at 97.1 miles per hour on his fastball against a talented Yankees’ Triple-A club at Polar Park.

“I was pretty pumped,” Slaten said. “I saw the (velocity is) up there and obviously feeling good about how the body feels, how the arm feels (and) how the oblique feels. So yeah, I think we’re in a really good spot.”

Before being placed on the IL, Slaten made four relief appearances this year with Boston, throwing 3⅓ innings and allowing one unearned run on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

After making his first rehab appearance with Double-A Portland on Sunday, when Slaten pitched one inning and gave up one hit and no runs with two strikeouts on 16 pitches (9 for strikes), the 28-year-old righty felt like he executed his “go-to pitches” Wednesday — including his cutter.

“First and foremost, I feel like whenever I have that (pitch) going, that’s when I have my best outing,” Slaten said. “Being able to throw that pitch, get some swings and misses on it, throw it in the zone, is a huge deal. That’s kind of what you’re wanting to take away from these outings.”

Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten fires a pitch during his rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester on May 6, 2026, at Polar Park.

As for if Slaten feels ready to rejoin the Boston bullpen?

“I feel really good,” he said. “But, obviously, it’s up to (Red Sox decision makers.) I’m going to do whatever they tell me to do. I know they have my best interest in mind and want me to be healthy and able to compete up there. But I feel really good about where I’m at.”

The last time Slaten pitched for the Red Sox, Alex Cora was the club’s manager. But Cora was fired on April 25, and Chad Tracy was named Boston’s interim manager.

At lot has changed with the big-league club in the past month.

“I’ve been eager to get back there since the first day I was on the IL,” Slaten said. “It doesn’t matter who’s up there coaching; the goal is to be competing and trying to win. Obviously, a lot has changed, but you just got to go up there and give it everything you got. It’s been a whirlwind (for) the past couple weeks at every level, and I think that everybody’s kind of feeling that top down.

“But at the end of the day, I know we’re kind of running out of time to say ‘It’s early,’ but you look at the standings, you look at stuff like that and you’re like, ‘We’re still in a pretty good spot to be able to make a run.’ It’s not like we’ve dug ourselves in so deep of a hole and so for me it’s just, ‘How can I get back and how can I help us win games as fast as possible?’”

While it’s unclear when exactly Slaten will rejoin the Red Sox bullpen, the former third-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers has positioned himself to clear that final hurdle in his recovery from an oblique injury.

Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten flashes a smile during his rehab appearance with Triple-A Worcester on May 6, 2026, at Polar Park.

“In these situations, like today, the most important thing is feeling good, feeling healthy,” Slaten said, “and, like, you can execute pitches and compete in a big-league game.”

“He’s ready to go,” WooSox acting manager Iggy Suarez said pregame. “To have a guy like that get back to health and get him up in the big leagues is what we (want to do).”

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Red Sox pitcher Justin Slaten feels good after rehab stint with WooSox