J.D. Drew (shoulder) took 35 swings in a cage Wednesday.

Drew will take live batting practice with his Red Sox teammates on Friday and Saturday before beginning a minor league rehab assignment early next week. The outfielder has been down since July 19 with a shoulder impingement.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona suggested Monday that J.D. Drew (shoulder) will likely need a minor league rehab assignment before returning from the disabled list.

Drew hit off a tee over the weekend and took some soft toss before Monday's game against the Twins. He is likely a week or so away from rejoining the Red Sox, but he will probably return as Josh Reddick's backup in right field.

J.D. Drew (shoulder) swung at balls off a tee on Friday.

There's no timetable for when Drew will return, but he seems likely to need only another week or so as long as he continues to progress. "We'll see how it progresses,'' Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I don't think he feels like it's going to be terribly long. From our side of it, he's been down a while. We want to make sure he's not only able to come back but come back and be productive.''

Red Sox manager Terry Francona is hopeful that J.D. Drew (shoulder) will start swinging a bat in a few days.

"He's been working out like crazy on the treadmill and shagging balls and all that stuff,'' said the manager, "but he's not ready to start hitting yet.'' Obviously we'll get a better idea of when he can return once he starts swinging. Drew has been out since mid-July with a left shoulder impingement.

Red Sox placed OF J.D. Drew on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 20, with a left shoulder impingement.

It's officially official. Drew was originally expected to go on the disabled list prior to Monday's game to make room for Jon Lester on the active roster, but Kyle Weiland was sent to the minors instead. Barring a trade, Josh Reddick has a real opportunity to run away with the starting right field job. He's worth using in deeper mixed leagues while he's hot.

Updating a previous item, outfielder J.D. Drew (shoulder) has not been placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Drew was originally expected to be placed on the disabled list to make room for Jon Lester's return from the disabled list, but Kyle Weiland will head to the minors instead. Drew is still going on the disabled list, but it won't happen until Tuesday, when Drew Sutton will be added to the active roster.

CSNNE's Sean McAdam is reporting that the Red Sox will place J.D. Drew (shoulder) on the disabled list Monday.

Apparently it's an "impingement in the left shoulder." The Globe's Nick Cafardo suggests that the Sox might be trying to deal for an outfielder to fill Drew's spot on the 25-man roster. Josh Reddick owners should stay tuned.

J.D. Drew has been dealing with some shoulder discomfort of late.

Drew hasn't played since Tuesday, which is probably partly related to the shoulder but more so due to Josh Reddick stealing his job. It doesn't sound like more than a day-to-day type thing.

J.D. Drew returned to action on Thursday June 30.

J.D. Drew might not miss any games with a left eye contusion.

Drew suffered the injury when he fouled a ball off the eye during batting practice. He tried to play through it but left Sunday's game in the second inning. "He got a pretty good shiner there and it was starting to affect his vision," manager Terry Francona said. When asked if Drew might need to take a few games off, Francona said: "I don't think so."

J.D. Drew left Sunday's game in the second inning with an apparent eye ailment.

It's not clear at this point what exactly is wrong with Drew, but obviously the eye issue was bad enough that he felt he couldn't continue. Darnell McDonald replaced him in right field.

J.D. Drew is not in Thursday's lineup against the Rays.

Not unexpected against the left-hander David Price. Mike Cameron will make the start in right field Thursday and bat eighth.

J.D. Drew is out of the lineup for Wednesday's matinee against the White Sox.

We haven't heard anything about an injury, so he's likely getting the day off with the quick turnaround. Josh Reddick will make the start in right field Wednesday and bat eighth against right-hander Gavin Floyd.

J.D. Drew started the second game of Sunday's doubleheader and went 2-for-3 against the Tigers.

He had half of Boston's hits off Justin Verlander. Drew missed the previous three games with hamstring tightness.

J.D. Drew (hamstring is expected to return to the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader.

Drew will have missed four games with a nagging hamstring ailment after sitting out the first game of the doubleheader. He'll get to square off against Justin Verlander in the nightcap.

J.D. Drew (hamstring) is out of the lineup for the second straight day Thursday.

We thought for a moment that Drew could be headed for the disabled list, but he's still listed as day-to-day. The newly-recalled Josh Reddick will make the start in right field Thursday.

J.D. Drew won't play Wednesday due to a strained right hamstring.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona doesn't think he'll need to miss much time, so consider him day-to-day right now. Mike Cameron will play right field in his absence.

J.D. Drew is out of Wednesday's lineup against the Indians.

We haven't heard anything about an injury, so he's likely getting the day off with the quick turnaround. Mike Cameron will start in right field and bat eighth against right-hander Mitch Talbot.

J.D. Drew is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Orioles.

Nothing out of the ordinary here with a left-hander on the hill for the Orioles. Mike Cameron will make the start in right field Tuesday and bat seventh.

J.D. Drew is not in Saturday's lineup against the Yankees.

He'll take a seat against the left-hander C.C. Sabathia. Mike Cameron will make the start in right field Saturday and bat seventh.