Chris Sale throws from the mound at Fenway Park

Red Sox Chris Sale continued his recovery at Fenway on Friday. Matthew J Lee/Globe staff

Chris Sale’s return from Tommy John surgery is getting closer and closer.

The Red Sox’ southpaw threw off the mound at Fenway Park Friday afternoon. Several of Sale’s teammates gathered to watch his bullpen session that appears to have the team excited.

“We need to try not to get too excited,” Cora said. “It was that good.”

Cora added that Sale told him it was the best he’s felt pitching since the surgery in March 2020.

Friday’s bullpen session is Sale’s second session at Fenway this week. He threw from the mound in the bullpen on Tuesday, joining the team for the first time after spending months rehabbing in Fort Meyers, Florida.

“If it was up to me, I’d be starting tomorrow,” Sale jokingly told reporters Tuesday.

Cora liked what he saw on Tuesday.

“He’s in a great place mentally,” Cora said. “Physically, he looks a lot stronger than two years ago. Just excited that he’s a baseball player again. Now we’ve just got to be patient.”

Sale’s next step in the recovery process is to throw against hitters, which will happen in Boston. Sale said he would be open to pitching as a reliever to return to the team quicker as opposed to traditional route of pitching in the minors prior to making the return to the majors.

“The quicker that I can be back on this team, I would like that,” Sale said. “That [decision] is way above my pay grade and where I’m at right now. I’m focused on my next day and getting off the mound and then whatever the next step is, take that.”

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