Cordero Ready to Return After Assault Charge

Boston Red Sox outfielder Wilfredo Cordero is ready to return to the lineup, the team said Thursday, eight days after he was charged with beating and threatening to kill his wife.

“He’s going with the team to Detroit,” General Manager Dan Duquette said at a Fenway Park news conference. “It will be up to [Manager Jimy Williams] to put him in when he feels he’s ready.”

Williams would not commit to playing Cordero tonight, but there was no indication he would hold him out of the lineup.

Cordero has not played since a June 11 doubleheader against Baltimore. That night, after getting a ride home from first baseman Mo Vaughn, Cordero got into a fight with his wife that left her nose bloodied.

Ana Cordero told police that her husband hit her with a phone and twice threatened to kill her. Although she has declined to testify against him, prosecutors said they will pursue the case without her.

Wilfredo Cordero pleaded not guilty to assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and threatening to commit a crime. He was released on $1,000 bail, with a hearing scheduled for June 24.

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Texas Ranger shortstop Billy Ripken has been put on the disabled list because of a herniated disk in his lower back that could sideline him up to six weeks.