FORT MYERS, Fla. — Injured Red Sox lefty Chris Sale is feeling better and hopes to restart his throwing program early next week, he said Tuesday. Sale suffered a stress fracture in his right rib cage on Feb. 24 and has been shut down from throwing for more than a month.

Once Sale starts throwing, he’ll progress to throwing off a mound and then eventually get into games, either in extended spring training or with minor league affiliates. The Red Sox have not given a timetable for his return to major league action, but the fact he’s close to throwing is a good sign.

“For now, the plan is probably sometime early next week,” Sale said. “I think they want to get me past a certain point numbers-wise with weeks because with bones, it’s probably scheduled out. I think they want to get me to a certain number before I start doing that just to really give it some time.”

Thursday marks five weeks since Sale suffered the injury while throwing a live batting practice session at his alma mater, Florida Gulf Coast University. Since the beginning of spring training, he has continued to work out and rehab with the team’s trainers but has been limited due to significant discomfort in the area of his ribs. The lefty said he has been moving around more in recent days while trying to convince the Red Sox to let him throw. The final hurdle before throwing is a series of tests to see how quickly he can rotate the affected area.

Early on, Sale experienced significant pain whenever he sneezed, coughed or laughed. Now, the injury is more of an annoyance than something that hurts throughout the day.

“I’m still bracing for it but I’ve noticed that sensation dissipating daily,” he said.

Sale won’t be ready for Opening Day and isn’t sure if he will travel with the Red Sox on their opening road trip to New York and Detroit or remain in Fort Myers during the early part of the season. On Tuesday, Red Sox General Manager Brian O’Halloran said the goal is to take things one step at a time instead of putting a date on Sale’s return. Sale agreed with that assessment.

“I’m employee No. 41. They don’t tell me that kind of stuff,” Sale said. “I leave that to them. I just show up just wheels turning, ready to go. I have a routine throughout the day and all I can keep doing is hitting those spots and force them to tell me to slow down. That’s one of my favorite things to do, because that means I’m ahead of schedule.”

It’s unclear how much buildup Sale will need before he starts pitching in games, but the Red Sox are certain to take him along carefully considering he just spent two years rehabbing from Tommy John surgery before returning in mid-August. With Sale, it’s always a matter of the player working hard to accelerate his rehab while the team tries to rein him in and proceed at a more methodical speed. For Sale’s part, he doesn’t believe he needs to completely restart his preparations for the season because of how good he felt all winter while training at FGCU.

“I was in too good of a spot before all of this happened for me to feel like I’m starting back at zero,” he said. “I’m not starting back at 100 like if I came in here full systems go, but I’ve felt it coming back pretty quick, even through this process. I had a really good work schedule this off-season.”

Until Sale returns, the Red Sox will have Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Michael Wacha and either Rich Hill or Garrett Whitlock in their rotation. Sale’s return looms large as a potential early-season boost for Boston.

“It’s great that Chris is feeling well,” O’Halloran said. “I talked to him the other day and he felt like he was really progressing, so those are conversations we’ll be having soon.”

LESS THAN 48 hours after being introduced as the newest Red Sox, Trevor Story had another life-changing event to attend to. And he didn’t have much time to get there.

Halfway across the country, Story’s wife Mallie was ready to give birth to their first child. He got the call on Thursday night.

“My wife called me and said, ‘This thing might be happening,’” Story said.

Story didn’t sleep at all Thursday night and got on the earliest flight possible on Friday morning from Fort Myers to his home in the Dallas area. Everything was almost a blur after that.

“It was like a movie,” Story said. “I was speeding to the hospital and running through the lobby and straight to the delivery room and he came very quick after that.”

The movie had a happy ending. Story made it in time for the delivery of he and Mallie’s healthy baby boy, completing an exhausting rollercoaster week for the new Red Sox second baseman, who returned to camp at JetBlue Park on Monday after spending the weekend at home.

“It’s been definitely the craziest week of my life,” Story said Tuesday morning. “But all just amazing things that we’ll look back and say this was a great week and celebrate that. It’s been a whirlwind, just trying to hang on and get ready for the season.

“It’s such a special moment to be there for our first born child. It was tough leaving, but my family is just so understanding of what’s going and they’ve been great about it. Now it’s time to get ready for baseball.”

Story is confident he’ll be ready for the start of the season, despite a late start with his new team and needing to leave for three days. As soon as he returned Monday, the Red Sox put Story to work in a simulated game at JetBlue Park, where he took seven at-bats – most of them against ace Nathan Eovaldi – all in consecutive innings.

The sim game went progressively well for Story. He struck out in each of his first two at-bats before drawing a walk against Matt Barnes, though he was shortly after picked off at first base.

But his next at-bat, he tripled to right off Eovaldi.

“I got seven at-bats, right back-to-back consecutively, so it was good in that sense to get in the flow and just kind of getting my timing and my tempo down,” Story said. “I feel as the at-bats went on that I got better and started making better contact. I think more than anything, I feel like I’m seeing the ball well. For me at this stage, that’s really what I’m looking for. I know the hard contact and the good swings will come, so I feel good about it.”

Story isn’t concerned about his readiness for Opening Day next Thursday at Yankee Stadium, though Manager Alex Cora said over the weekend that it’s likely he’ll see some off days at the start of the season as he works his way back. He’s expected to make his Red Sox spring debut on Wednesday at JetBlue Park against the Braves.

“I feel really good,” Story said. “I take a lot of pride in my offseason work and doing the right things for my body to stay ready. I think it’s going to pay big dividends now. So yeah, I think my work in the offseason is going to flow right into spring. Obviously it’s shortened, but I know I’ll be ready.”

Story said his transition to second base has been going well, too, as his new teammates like Xander Bogaerts and Christian Arroyo help him adjust to the position. Though he hasn’t been around the team long, he feels like he’s part of a special group.

“It’s a very high standard,” Story said. “I love that and I think we’re going to elevate each other each day. The more that we’re around each other, the more that’s going to grow. I think that’s what I’ve felt the most. It’s a super talented team. You just look around and see these guys and it gives me a lot of confidence.”

Though the last week has been exhausting and emotional for Story and his family, it’s been rewarding and fulfilling. He’s ready for what comes next.

“It’s a whole new chapter that’s going to be so fun,” Story said. “I can’t wait.”

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