BOSTON -- Steven Wright threw a few bullpen sessions back here while the Red Sox were on their nine-game road trip. He could be nearing a rehab assignment.

The Red Sox placed Wright on the 10-day disabled list June 26 with knee inflammation. He underwent a cartilage restoration procedure in his left knee last May. It was the same surgery Dustin Pedroia underwent last October.

"He's feeling good," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We'll see where we go with that. I don't know if that means he's ready for a rehab assignment. But I saw him in the weight room. The way he's talking ... he feels that he's getting very close."

Wright will return as a reliever whenever he does return. He posted a 2.25 ERA in six relief outings (16.0 innings, four earned runs) earlier this season.

"He did an outstanding job coming in in the middle of games and giving us a chance to win," Cora said. "When he's on, it's a tough one. I think when he comes back it's going to be in that role. So we'll see how it goes when he comes back. Get him there. He was getting very close to being one of the high-leverage relievers because we feel very comfortable with the catchers and with men on that they're going to catch it.

"But then we needed him in the rotation," Cora added. "So we'll take care of him early and put him in some not high-leverage situations. But if he throws it the way he was early in the season, we'll find innings for him in those situations and see where it goes."

Pedroia feels he's improving

Dustin Pedroia remains back home in Arizona where he's rehabbing his ailing left knee. He returned to Arizona on July 13.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said July 30 that the Red Sox are not ruling out Pedroia returning this season but they don't anticipate that he will be back.

"He's in a good place as far as his rehab," Cora said. "He feels that he's improving. At what pace, I don't know. But he feels like he's making strides."