NEW YORK -- Although Kyle Schwarber was not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's series finale at Yankee Stadium, there were no red flags.

It was simply a day for Schwarber to get some rest after starting both ends of Tuesday's day-night doubleheader.

When the Red Sox return home this weekend for a series with the Rangers, Schwarber will do something he hasn't done yet for Boston: Play defense.

Look for him to start a game or two against the Rangers in left field.

The Red Sox have been conservative with Schwarber in his first few days on the active roster. The left-handed-hitting slugger suffered a right hamstring injury on July 2 that kept him out of action for six weeks.

"He's feeling a lot better. You saw him running yesterday. He moved well," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "He worked earlier today at first. Now, he'll go back out there for batting practice. We'll keep working with that, but first things first, he'll play the outfield, of course, before he plays first base."

If Schwarber can gain enough comfort at first to start some games there, it will be significant for a Boston squad that has lacked production at that position all season.

Though Schwarber hasn't gone deep yet for the Red Sox, he has reached base in seven of his first 14 plate appearances.

Plans for Houck?
Righty Tanner Houck was returned to Triple-A Worcester after serving as the 27th man for Tuesday's doubleheader. This was the fourth time Boston's No. 6 prospect has been used as a starter for a doubleheader.

Under normal circumstances, when a player is optioned to the Minors, he can't return to the big-league club for 10 days unless he is replacing an injured player.

But there are no such restrictions when it comes to the 27th player for a doubleheader.

Cora wouldn't say when Houck will return to make his next start in the Majors. But looking at the calendar, the Sox can get by without a fifth starter in the rotation until Aug. 28 at Cleveland due to upcoming off-days.

"You know, I can't go into details with that, but as you guys know, he's an important part of what we're trying to accomplish here," said Cora.

Venable to return Friday
Bench coach Will Venable will be back in the dugout for the first time in two weeks when the Sox open their homestand Friday night.

Venable tested positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 7 and had to quarantine in a Toronto hotel room for the better part of the past two weeks.

Fortunately, Venable was at last cleared to leave Toronto. He will go to North Carolina to be there for his kids' first day of school, which is on Thursday's off-day for the Red Sox. And then he'll fly back to Boston that night.

"Spending all that time in the room, it's good for him to just relax, breathe, walk around and be ready for Friday," said Cora.