Ellsbury, who strained his right wrist while making a diving catch on Thursday, progressed to hitting for the first time on Sunday, albeit off a tee.

While the Red Sox officially have an off-day on Monday, Ellsbury will be at the park -- hopeful that he can progress to batting practice. That is the last hurdle he needs to clear before playing in a game.

"It's feeling a lot better each day," said Ellsbury. "Big improvement. That's good. I didn't hit live [today], but the tee work went fine. I was sore, obviously. But I feel good."

What Ellsbury is experiencing now is the normal type of recovery discomfort.