Red Sox
The Red Sox finally received some excellent news on the injury front, capping off a primary month of setbacks.
Garrett Cooper's first game with Boston ended early when he wristed a 94.8 mph fastball from San Francisco's Sean Hjelle within the fifth inning. The first baseman left the sport immediately and recorded just three plate appearances before getting injured within the Red Sox's 4-0 win over the Giants on Tuesday.
But the Sox breathed a sigh of relief after Tuesday's win. Alex Cora said Cooper avoided serious injury.
“He’s fine,” Cora told reporters. “Just sore. We'll see where he is tomorrow. We dodged a bullet there.”
It definitely appears to be the primary bullet the Red Sox have dodged this season. Cooper was already brought in on an emergency basis when Boston acquired him in a trade from the Chicago Cubs on Saturday after Triston Casas suffered a rib cage injury per week earlier. Casas was placed on the 60-day injured list shortly after the move.
The injury reports for the Red Sox have been consistent this season, seemingly affected by a lineup or rotation-altering ailment every series. All of the continued injuries have occurred before the season even began, with several key players out in the primary few weeks of spring training. Let's take a take a look at every notable injury the Red Sox have suffered up to now.
March 2: Vaughn Grissom is out for Opening Day with a groin injury
Grissom was expected to be the Red Sox' starting second baseman on Opening Day after acquiring him in a trade with the Braves for Chris Sale through the offseason.
But these plans were immediately thwarted. Grissom suffered a groin strain during fielding drills in spring training, causing the Red Sox to right away rule him out for Opening Day. Enmanuel Valdez has been the team's primary second baseman for the reason that start of the season.
Grissom was finally scheduled to make his Red Sox debut on Tuesday, however the flu delayed his debut a bit longer.
March 5: Lucas Giolito suffers an elbow injury and requires surgery
The right-hander's first season in Boston likely ended before it officially began. Giolito experienced discomfort in his pitching elbow through the first few weeks of spring training, requiring him to undergo an internal brace to repair his UCL per week later.
While it was suggested on the time of the surgery that Giolito would miss the complete 2024 season, he recently said further “The Chris Rose Rotation” that he “absolutely” feels his recovery is progressing well enough that he could return before the tip of the 12 months.
“I'm following the protocol but at the same time trying to push the limits as much as possible because I would rather come back earlier than planned,” Gilito said. “But it’s a lot of people’s decisions, not just mine. That’s pretty much my life right now.”
March 12: Rob Refsnyder misses spring training game
The veteran outfielder suffered a broken toe during an exhibition game, hurting the Red Sox's outfield depth early within the season.
Refsnyder made his season debut on April 18. Since his return, he has been one among the team's best hitters, hitting .379 home runs in ten games.
March 29: Rafael Devers misses the primary of several games with a shoulder injury
The Red Sox' star slugger handled injuries almost immediately from the beginning. After an Opening Day win over the Mariners, Devers missed two games because of a shoulder injury that bothered him during spring training.
Devers has avoided being on the injured list. However, he missed eleven games in April because of a shoulder injury and later a knee injury.
April 5: Trevor Story suffers a season-ending injury
After his first full, healthy offseason with the Red Sox, Story's 2024 season ended after one week. After diving for a ground ball against the Angels, he broke the glenoid in his left shoulder and required surgery.
Story's injury got here after he was sidelined until August of last season because of surgery on his throwing arm. This injury caused the Red Sox to try multiple shortstop options all year long.
April 9: Nick Pivetta is on the injured list
The Red Sox began their home opener with bad news. They placed Pivetta on the 15-day injured list because of a right elbow flexor strain.
Pivetta began the 12 months because the Red Sox's No. 2 starter after ending the 2023 season strong, posting a 3.30 ERA in 73 2/3 innings over 16 appearances. In his first two starts, he posted a 1-1 record and posted a 0.82 ERA with 13 strikeouts to simply one walk.
The excellent news is that Pivetta is on the way in which back. He will begin rehab on Thursday, and if all goes well, he shall be on the massive league roster the subsequent time he takes the mound.
April 11: Trevor Story's alternative goes on the injured list
Just days after the Red Sox learned that Story could be over for the season, the team lost one among its best relievers. Romy González was on the 10-day injured list because of a wrist sprain and played only two games after replacing Story.
April 12: A substitute player goes on the injured list
A number of weeks into the season, the injury bug began to spread through the Red Sox bullpen. Right winger Isaiah Campbell suffered a shoulder injury that led to him being placed on the 15-day injured list.
Campbell, acquired in a trade with the Mariners within the offseason, didn't have the perfect numbers in his first few games with the Red Sox, posting a 12.79 ERA. However, he helped eat up some innings early on, as he made seven relief appearances in the primary two weeks of the season.
April 13: Tyler O'Neill suffers a scary injury but avoids a lengthy absence
O'Neill began his profession in Boston as probably the greatest power hitters in baseball, hitting seven home runs in his first 15 games with the team. But he needed to take a brief break and suffered a concussion when he collided with Devers during a loss to the Guardians on Patriots' Day. It was also at this point that Devers suffered the aforementioned knee injury, which briefly sidelined him.
After seven days on the injured list, O'Neill already appears to be back on form. In the six games since his return, he’s hitting .333 with two home runs.
April 16: Another starter lands on the injured list
Garrett Whitlock was placed on the injured list after suffering an oblique strain. After returning to the rotation to begin the season, he posted solid numbers, going 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his first 4 starts.
As the Red Sox tried Whitlock within the rotation for the third straight season, this was also the third straight season wherein he suffered an injury serious enough to cause him to miss time.
April 20: Triston Casas goes under
Just because the Red Sox were about to get O'Neill and Devers back within the lineup, the team lost one other middle-order hitter. Casas suffered what was eventually diagnosed as torn cartilage in his ribs during a success in the primary inning against the Pirates.
The Red Sox expressed concern about Casas' injury from the beginning and expected him to be out for a while. No timetable has been provided for his return, although he shall be out no less than two months because of the 60-day injured list.
Casas said he expects to return later in 2024. After a breakout performance at the tip of his rookie season, Casas hit .244 with an .857 OPS and 6 home runs in his first 18 games of the season.
April 23: The list of injured is discussed in additional detail
In a cruel twist, catcher Tyler Heineman was placed on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury just two days after being called up to exchange Casas. At the time of his call-up, Heineman was the last available position player the Red Sox could call up from their 40-man roster, showing how injured they were within the early weeks of the season.
April 24: The Red Sox lose their ace
Injuries continued to plague the starting rotation throughout April. Brayan Bello was placed on the 15-day injured list because of a lat strain, becoming the fourth starter since spring training to be on the injured list.
Cora said the location was precautionary, which likely bodes well for Bello's recovery plan.
Bello was the Red Sox' Opening Day starter this season, posting a 3-1 record with a 3.04 ERA in his first five starts.
April 28: Masataka Yoshida leaves the sport early
After sitting on the bench for quite a while early within the season, he had to go away Sunday's win against the Cubs early because of a hand injury. Details of his injury will not be yet referred to as he’ll undergo an MRI scan, however the team doesn’t expect him to miss much time.
April 30: The Red Sox close the month April 17-13
Despite all of the injuries for the reason that start of camp, the Red Sox enter May at the highest of the AL East, 4 games over .500 and just 2.5 games behind the Orioles.
The team's rotation is the rationale for the strong start. The pitching staff has an MLB-best ERA of two.59, while the starting rotation has an ERA of two.00. Tanner Houck leads the way in which with a 1.60 ERA in his first six starts of the season.
Cora, who’s in the ultimate 12 months of his contract, feels good about where the team is after a month of play.
“We play good baseball,” Cora said. “The season is already a month over and we still have a long way to go. We just have to keep doing the things we preach. We'll play better defense, we'll run the bases better, the offense will be better, the pitching will be more consistent.
“So let’s see. Win the series tomorrow and we’ll keep rolling.”
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