Red Sox рrosрeсt Yoeіlіn Cesрedes tаkіng swіngs аfter undergoіng һаnd surgery tһіs summer

Red Sox infield prospect Yoeilin Cespedes posted a video of himself taking some swings in a batting cage to his Instagram story earlier Thursday afternoon.

Cespedes, the No. 9 prospect in Boston’s farm system according to Baseball America, is approximately four months removed from undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his left hand. The issue first popped up for the 19-year-old after he was promoted from the Florida Complex League to Low-A Salem in late June.

Though he was initially considered day-to-day, the soreness in Cespedes’ left hand lingered and led to further testing being done. Those tests ultimately resulted in the diagnosis of a hamate fracture, as Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham explained to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier in July.

Because of the surgery, Cespedes will have to wait until next April at the earliest to make his Low-A debut. Still, there is no denying that the Dominican native put together a strong first season stateside in 2024 after originally signing with the Red Sox for $1.4 million as a highly-touted international free agent last January. He then kicked off his professional career by earning 2023 Dominican Summer League All-Star honors and being named Boston’s Latin Program Position Player of the Year.

After being slowed by a quadriceps strain in spring training, Cespedes debuted for the rookie-level FCL Red Sox on May 9 and took off from there. In 25 games, the young right-handed hitter batted stout .319/.400/.615 with 10 doubles, one triple, five home runs, 24 RBIs, 20 runs scored, three stolen bases, 12 walks, and 19 strikeouts in 25 games (105 plate appearances). That includes a .317/.374/.622 slash line against right-handed pitching and a .333/.571/.556 slash line against lefties.