Ortiz says he’s still weeks away

It might have seemed funny in April to hear that the fate of David Ortiz’s season hinged on 25 “dry swings” taken in Fenway’s indoor batting cage. But such is life when Big Papi partially tears the tendon sheath in his left wrist and is forced to take baby steps on his road to recovery.

There was still some pain and soreness in his left wrist as Boston’s designated hitter took his slow-but-sure hacks at an empty tee, but Ortiz was encouraged to have the lumber back in his strong hands.

“It’s not a setback,” Ortiz said. “Actually, it’s positive because when I got hurt, I couldn’t even hold a bat, so now at least I’m able to swing slowly. It’s good to know what point I’m at in my progress.

“It’s recovering pretty much on pace for what they thought it was going to be,” added Ortiz, who was hitting .252 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs this season. “I’m disappointed because I want to be playing, but there’s not too much I can do about it but wait.

“I want to be out there swinging like I normally do, but it’s a healing process.”

Heading into last night’s series finale against the Diamondbacks at Fenway, the Sox had put together a very respectable 14-8 record since Ortiz went down with the wrist ailment on May 31. The surprising record is due in equal parts to a stupendous offensive month from J.D. Drew and a very nontraditional speed component featured by this year’s team.

As far as Big Papi goes, he admitted that he’s still weeks away from getting into a game and taking one of his typically lethal cuts. Ortiz will build up in hitting reps and intensity before advancing to first soft toss and then batting practice.

It’s expected that Ortiz will need a few rehab appearances — most likely in Pawtucket — before he’s ready to return to the Sox’ fold.

“There’s got to be a place to start and before we get on the road, the guys wanted to see him do it,” said Sox manager Terry Francona. “It’s going to be a little slow at first, but everything is kind of going according to plan.”