Chris Bassitt, on the 60-day injured list after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur in his lower back, threw a two-up bullpen session earlier today.

“He looked great, he felt great,” said manager Craig Albernaz. “Ball was coming out well. He was moving well down the mound. So it was a very encouraging bullpen for Bass.”

Catcher Adley Rutschman, on the 10-day IL with left elbow inflammation, did some throwing on the field.

“Rutsch is trending in the right direction,” Albernaz said. “He was outside playing catch today. He wasn’t catching the ball thrown back to him, but he was out there throwing. He’s progressing positively.”

Samuel Basallo remains shut down with inflammation in his right shoulder.

“He has a few days off right now to kind of let his shoulder calm down a little bit,” Albernaz said. “But he’s in great spirits, so by all accounts, he’s feeling good. Good as in the sense that his shoulder isn’t feeling great, so it’s all relative.”

While both catchers are down, Creed Willems is back on Triple-A Norfolk’s active roster and hitting .256/.353/.426 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs in 71 games. Willems, an eighth-round draft pick in 2021, went on the minor league IL earlier this month with a strained left hamstring.

“With Creed, we want him to be healthy,” Albernaz said. “Obviously, coming off the injured list, that’s first and foremost. We don’t want to thrust a player in the major leagues that’s been on the minor league IL just because we have spots open per se up in the big leagues. We want to do right by them. So just like anything, we always look at all of our players, keep track of all of them, and if there’s a fit, there’s a fit. But right now it’s making sure Creed is getting what he needs in Norfolk.”

Colton Cowser is out of tonight’s lineup, but Albernaz said the reasoning has nothing to do with the outfielder’s slump.

Cowser is 2-for-30 this month and 2-for-35 going back to June 29. Tyler O’Neill is getting a start against a right-hander. Taylor Ward, Leody Taveras and Dylan Beavers are in the outfield.

“It’s more of, T.O. is feeling really good at the plate right now and we kind of want to keep him going, so we have him DHing,” Albernaz said.  “And then, Wardy back in left field, and having Leody and Beavers out there, as well.”

Christian Encarnacion-Strand is at third base again after hitting his third home run last night in five games. He’s 8-for-20 with eight RBIs.

“It’s been really impressive. It’s been fun to watch,” Albernaz said.

“He hasn’t been missing good pitches to hit, and that’s a testament to him. It’s tough in this league to hit sometimes, but ultimately when you get a pitch to hit, you’ve got to put a good swing on it and do some damage. That’s what he’s doing right now.”