Ellsbury (knee) is back in center field and hitting second Wednesday against the Rays, Newsday's Erik Boland reports.

EDGE Analysis

He was anticipated to return Wednesday, and that held true. Ellsbury missed two games with the sore knee, and prior to that he had hit .266/.326/.418 with five home runs and one steal in 41 games since the start of August. The lack of speed on the bases in the second half after stealing 16 bases in 77 first half games suggests his lower half has not been at 100 percent.