Courtesy of CBS Sports
The Red Sox have been bitten a lot by the injury bug so far this season. Just under one month into the season, they have had a whopping 14 players go to the IL. It started back in spring training when their newly acquired starting pitcher Lucas Giolito went down with a UCL injury that would end his season just two spring training starts in. Then, also newly acquired, second baseman Vaughn Grissom suffered a hamstring strain and still has yet to come back. While he is close to a return and is currently on a rehab assignment, he still hasn’t played a game for Boston. Then, also during spring training, left handed reliever Chris Murphy had a season ending surgery to repair a torn UCL. The spring training injuries didn’t end there as outfielder Rob Refsnyder also went to the IL with a fractured toe that he suffered after getting hit in the foot during an at bat. They also have recently signed closer Liam Hendricks, who has been recovering from elbow surgery since before he signed with Boston.
Courtesy of Sports Illustrated
Then, just eight games into the season, shortstop Trevor Story suffered a shoulder injury that would require season ending surgery. At the time, this was arguably the hardest hit that the team would take since Story was the defensive anchor for the team’s infield and a leader to the team as a whole. The injuries didn’t stop there though. Red Sox star player Rafael Devers was day-to-day with shoulder soreness that kept him sidelined for a few days. Then, on the day of the Sox home opener, starting pitcher Nick Pivetta headed to the IL with an elbow flexor strain.
Courtesy of NESN
To replace Trevor Story, the Sox called up infield utility player Romy González, who promptly suffered a fractured wrist and landed on the IL, shortly after making his Red Sox debut.
The very next day, relief pitcher Isaiah Campbell landed on the IL with a shoulder impingement.
Courtesy of The Boston Globe
Just a few days later, power hitting outfielder Tyler O’Neill collided with Rafael Devers in an attempt to catch a flyball. Despite both players exiting the game after the collision, Devers seemed ok, but O’Neill needed 8 stitches above his eye and ended up on the seven day injured list, which is reserved for concussion related injuries. This still was not the end of the injury bug for the Sox. The next day, starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock also headed to the injured list with an oblique injury.
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Just days later, Devers was back to being day-to-day, this time with a bone bruise on his knee. This was a tough blow to the Sox offense since Devers had started to find his swing again now that he was no longer dealing with the shoulder injury. Devers sat for just under ten days before he eventually returned to the lineup as the DH because he still wasn’t quite ready to play the field yet.
Courtesy of The Boston Globe
The next big blow to the team was when first baseman Triston Casas exited the game on April 20th after just one at bat with a rib injury. Casas is such a crucial part to this team’s offensive production and being without him for any amount of time is going to be tough for Boston. Despite an unknown timetable for a return, both Casas and manager Alex Cora seem confident that the slugger would play again this year for the Sox, giving fans something to look forward to, despite all of these injuries.
Once Casas was placed on the IL, the team called up catcher Tyler Heineman, since he was the last remaining healthy position player on the 40 man roster that they could call up to Boston. However, after just one at bat, Heineman was also placed on the IL with a hamstring strain.
Courtesy of CBS Sports
The most recent injury bug victim however, was starting pitcher Brayan Bello. Bello was a major bright spot for the team in 2023 and was continuing that in his few starts of 2024, but he also headed to the IL with lat tightness. Manager Alex Cora however explained that he expects Bello to be back as soon as his IL stint was up and that the move was primarily a precaution.
Despite all of these injuries to key players, the Red Sox have somehow stayed above .500 and kept themselves afloat, but they can’t take anymore major injuries. They are running out of depth and the season is still so young. All they can do is hope that the players who are down right now return quickly and can stay healthy, giving them every possible chance to stay afloat in an extremely competitive division after finishing in last place in three of the last four years.
Edited by Giana Robertaccio
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