Carson Smith to DL after glove-throwing incident results in shoulder injury

The Red Sox bullpen was already something of a trouble spot. On Tuesday, things got worse.

Carson Smith was placed on the 10-day disabled list after suffering a subluxation of his right shoulder. The injury took place as Smith came out of Monday's game against Oakland. In the eighth inning, Smith allowed a solo homer to the A's Khris Davis. Unhappy with his performance, he hurled his glove in the dugout in frustration, resulting in the injury.

"It was a frustrating moment,'' said Smith, "and I definitely regret it. I felt my shoulder pop in and out really quick. I think it's a freak accident. I think fatigue played a factor with my shoulder and my shoulder just couldn't handle it.''

To replace Smith on the roster, the Red Sox called lefty Bobby Poyner from Pawtucket.

"He was very apologetic and felt bad about it,'' explained Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, "but when he left the game, he was upset, he threw his glove. And when he threw his glove, his shoulder subluxed. That's how he got hurt. It's unfortunate.''

Smith will be examined in another day or so, but he is expected to miss significant time.

"He went through extensive testing (Tuesday) and an MRI,'' said Dombrowski. "They're going to wait a couple of days (and) let it calm down. I'm sure at some point, we'll get a second opinion. But I don't know the severity, but it's not a mild (injury); we're not expecting him back in 10 days, by any means at this point. We'll see how severe it is, but it's got the potential to be a major injury.''

Asked if surgery could be a possibility, Dombrowski responded: "I can't answer that.''

"I'm obviously concerned,'' said Smith. "Any shoulder injury isn't a good injury. Your elbow's one thing, but the shoulder, you don't want to mess with. So yeah, I'm concerned.''

The setback comes as Smith, prior to his outing Monday, had begun to emerge as one of the team's most reliable late-inning bullpen options.  From April 30 through last weekend, he had strung together seven consecutive scoreless appearances while recording 10 strikeouts.

"We have some depth in that area,'' said Dombrowski, "but Carson Smith's a good pitcher.''

Dombrowski was also asked, since this injury was technically non-baseball related, whether Smith could face disciplinary measures from the club.

"We haven't discussed that because it just happened,'' said Dombrowski, "but I would doubt it. He's contrite enough at this point. I would say I would doubt it.''

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Dombrowski noted the Sox have other options, including the impending return of Tyler Thornburg, and in the future, Austin Maddox, who has been sidelined with a shoulder injury of his own since the middle of spring training.

But Thornburg is probably 10 days to two weeks away from rejoining the Red Sox, and hasn't pitched in a major league setting since the end of 2016. And while Maddox was impressive in the final six weeks of last season, his major league experience is limited to that brief window.

In terms of the high-leverage role in the eighth inning, Cora has mixed and matched, with Smith, Matt Barnes and Joe Kelly getting the majority of the work.

Dombrowski maintained that the effectiveness of the bullpen in the late innings -- the bridge to closer Craig Kimbrel -- was not a big concern of his.

"It's really not,'' said Dombrowski. "I know some people continue to point to that, but we feel comfortable. Joe Kelly's thrown very well. I think anytime a guy has a bad outing, people write about it. But he's had many more good outings than he has bad. We really like him. He's done a phenomenal job after (Opening Day); he's about one of the best bullpen guys in the league since that time.

"We do like Tyler Thornburg a great deal and he's coming back. So, it's really not (a concern).''

This sounds, frankly, like Dombrowski is whistling past the graveyard. Barnes continues to have control issues and Hembree allows too many baserunners (WHIP: 1.552). And Brian Johnson, Hector Velazquez (currently sidelined with a lower back strain) nor Poyner have much experience in high-leverage spots.

In a best-case scenario, Thornburg could, in time, replicate what Smith had been giving the Sox in the late innings. But where once Thornburg was seen as a supplement, Smith's injury instead puts him in the category of replacement.

Bottom line? The Sox still need more.