Eastbayri.com

PORTSMOUTH — Shortly after Boston Red Sox prospect and Portsmouth native Ryan Westmoreland had brain surgery performed in March, 2010, he decided to try to continue to pursue Major League Baseball as a career.

That meant he had to work his way back by whatever baseball means possible, and through off-field, daily occupational therapy sessions. He continues to make steady progress at the Red Sox camp in Fort Myers, FL.

Apparently he made enough progress that the team deemed he could swing a bat in a Dominican Republic Instructional League game.

“It’s a great milestone for him. He’s excited, all fired up,” said Ron Westmoreland, Ryan’s father. “It’s one of the steps in his rehab and that’s good. This really is no indication of anything other than him taking another step. You’ve got to keep it in perspective.

“Some people are thinking he’ll be playing in Greenville or at Lowell next year. But no one really knows what’s going to happen. It’s just another step along the way.”

Westmoreland is to hit in a game prior to the instructional league ending this week. He will be the designated hitter in his at-bat, or at-bats, and will not run. Westmoreland’s dad thinks the reason his son is being given the opportunity to step to the plate in a game situation is because the Red Sox staff deems it safe.

“(Ryan) says he sees the ball real well. Looking at pitches in the fall he could see the rotation and react to the ball,” said Westmoreland. “Vision has been an issue throughout this process. I’m guessing they felt comfortable if a pitch was up and in, he could get out of the way.

“Both he and the organization feel comfortable and confident he can do it. They feel he’s ready for it.”

When the final pick in the fifth-round of the 2008 MLB draft concludes his brief stay in the Dominican Republic, he will return to camp at Fort Myers and continue his tedious therapy sessions and other baseball-related activities before flying home for the holidays.

“He takes fly balls. He does distance running and sprints,” Westmoreland said of his 21-year-old son. “Physically he’s in excellent shape. He looks great.

“There were neurological issues caused by the surgery. He does a lot of occupational therapy projects designed to get the communication going between the brain and the body. He has to relearn how to do everything. It’s helping. He struggles the first time he tries something then gets used to it with repetition.”

The Red Sox have been cautious every step of the way with Westmoreland as he continues to recover from having a cavernous malformation in his brain stem removed. He forges ahead a little at a time every day. If he regains the five-tool baseball skills he possessed when drafted is unknown. But it’s a sure bet he’s not going to stop trying.

“He’s got a great perspective. He never complains,” said Westmoreland. “The Red Sox are controlling the pace. They’re doing it really safely, a small step at a time. The Sox staff is still 100 percent behind him.

“He’s still making progress. As long as that happens that’s a good sign. The time frame is tough. There’s not a lot of data out there pertaining to what happened to Ryan. Nobody really knows what the end result will be.”