Red Sox shortstop Jed Lowrie had an MRI performed Thursday on his ailing left wrist and received some encouraging news.

The 25-year-old was told that with some rest and strengthening and conditioning that his wrist should be 100-percent by spring training. Lowrie feared that he may need even further surgery.

Lowrie was limited to only 32 games in 2009 due to ongoing problems with his wrist. He had surgery in April and the wrist bothered him the entire season and postseason. He hit just .147 with 2 HRS and 11 RBI.

Last Monday, Sox GM Theo Epstein was hopeful Lowrie would be in the mix for a spot next season.

“Lowrie is an important factor for us. This is a young player we really believe in, but who has been hurt as a big league player. We have not seen the type of player he can be yet, because he’s been playing hurt the entire time. But at some point, he has to get healthy to be able to show what he can do and be able to help the organization. I don’t think we can hand the job to him, because he hasn’t proved his health yet at this point."