Even though we’ve got guys like Mikey Lowell and JD Drew carrying a good chunk of the offense, who wouldn’t like to see His Papiness back in the line-up? According to Extra Bases, he’s on his way:

“He [Ortiz] went out there last night in front of the doctors and swung off the tee, just kind of easy,” Francona said today in his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI 850 AM. “But he did OK. They just want to see him before we go on this road trip and because once he gets on this road trip, he’s gonna start swinging in BP at some point and they just want to lay their eyes on him before he gets going.

Also, he of the shiny eye and hypnotic beard will be back in the starting line-up tonight.