It’s official: injuries are now an excuse for the 2024 Boston Red Sox.
First there’s Rafael Devers. (Well, truly first, there was Lucas Giolito). Then Vaughn Grissom and Trevor Story. Then there’s Chris Murphy, Isaiah Campbell, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, and Tyler O’Neill.
Now, it’s Triston Casas.
(Am I missing anybody important? No seriously… am I? This is all a lot to keep up with…)
Casas landed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left rib strain he apparently re-aggravated during Saturday’s game against Pittsburgh. The slugging first baseman fouled a pitch off his left side in the first inning.
But the injury predates the Sox’s three-game series with the Pirates. Casas said he actually tweaked his rib cage during a swing during last week’s series against Cleveland at Fenway Park. He is set to undergo an MRI exam on Monday in Boston.
"I'm in a lot of pain right now," Casas told reporters. "Unfortunately, the last game, in the first at-bat, after that 3-1 swing, I just came up with a lot of pain in my midsection. We're getting the details a little more in-depth as we speak.”
The prognosis did not sound good, as his manager Alex Cora was pretty blunt when asked if he was concerned that Casas' injury would plague him longterm.
“Yes, I am,” Cora said before Sunday’s series finale at PNC Park.
Great, just great. Well, on a positive note, Devers took BP at the ballpark ahead of Sunday’s game as he works his way back from a bone bruise in his left knee. Cora said Devers should be back in the lineup when the Sox head to Cleveland for a rematch starting Tuesday.
By all counts, this is a lot of injuries — and not just around the edges of the roster, but to key players.
It probably won’t be long before we start to hear the excuse-making coming from Red Sox brass like Craig Breslow and Sam Kennedy.
“We believed in the team we put together … but everybody got hurt, so what are you gonna do?”
And unlike in years past, they can’t even say the built-in annual “Chris Sale coming back for the second half of the season is like trading for an All-Star player at the deadline” line that Red Sox fans have come to know and love…
Injuries are definitely an excuse. But are they a valid excuse?
Yes and no — but mostly no at this point. No team is built to withstand having *all* of their key contributors on the shelf. But as I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again… injuries are a part of the game. You have to plan for them.
And this team certainly hasn’t done that. Boston had some pieces to possibly contend with this season, like Devers, Story, Casas, etc., but they constructed a roster relying on all of their players to be 110 percent productive.
Beyond their top options, the organizational depth is borderline — maybe even outright at this point — horrendous. Poor Bobby Dalbec keeps getting tossed to the wolves while he can’t hit for a lick (after stranding five runners in an 0-for-4 game with three strikeouts Sunday, Bobby D is hitting .033 (1 for 30) with 18 strikeouts. That’s… I mean… I’m not even mad, that’s frankly just impressive…).
The bottom line is Breslow and Co. should be held responsible for not building a roster with enough major league talent waiting in the wings for when the injuries inevitably came. Not only do they not have enough able bodies available in the talent pool in Worcester, they don’t even seem to have guys who are waiting in the wings of waiting in the wings below that…
No amount of farm system depth would be enough to sustain a sustained team-wide injury plague anywhere across the majors, but the Red Sox were especially ill-prepared for their injury epidemic…
When Breslow, Kennedy, John Henry or Tom Werner come asking for your patience and understanding, well… you shouldn’t give it to them.
Buc Up
Meanwhile, the players who aren’t currently in the infirmary are keeping the Red Sox chugging right along after a successful weekend in Pittsburgh…
Boston earned its third straight win to sweep away Pittsburgh on Sunday, with Wilyer Abreu and a collection of five pitchers doing the heavy lifting in
“The boys did a good job,” Cora said. “They were amazing. Abreu today with the at-bats, the base-running today was solid, the defense — we’ve been able to slow it down a little bit, and obviously the pitching that’s been the constant. We were really good on the mound.”
Abreu logged his first multi-RBI game of the season, finishing 3 for 5 with a pair of RBI singles in the third and sixth. The 24-year-old outfielder is finding his stride at the plate and showing flashes of the player he was down the stretch in 2023.
It was Abreu’s fourth straight game with an RBI, during which time he’s batting 500. (8 for 16) with five RBIs.
“He played great,” Cora said. “(I’m) very happy for him gaining confidence.”
Abreu raised his season batting average to .280. Prior to his red-hot four-game stretch, he had been 0-for-9 with his averaging dropping to .176.
“At the beginning things weren’t going my way, but right now I’m feeling good, the timing is there, the at-bats are there,” Abreu said through an interpreter during his NESN postgame interview. “For me to be able to help the team win and to get my timing back, it’s very important.”
On the mound, Josh Winckowski got the part started by tossing 3 1/3, one-run innings with three hits and a strikeout. He was relieved by newcomer Cam Booser, who allowed two hits and recorded one punch out in an inning of work.
After 2/3 scoreless innings and a strikeout from Greg Weissert, Justin Slaten took the baton and followed with two scoreless frames on two hits with two strikeouts and a walk to pick up his first career victory. Veteran right-hander Chase Anderson closed things out (unofficially) with two perfect innings.
“We’re throwing the ball well,” said Cora, who again noted his team’s improving defense as a factor in the arms’ success. “If we do that, we’re going to be better. But we still have work to do.”
Boston aims to carry its newfound momentum into a rematch with the Guardians in Cleveland, who took three of four against them last week. Tanner Houck (3-1, 1.35 ERA) will look to build on his best career start in the Tuesday opener. The Sox are currently TBD for Wednesday’s game before ace Brayan Bello ( 3-1, 3.04 ERA) is set to toe the rubber in the finale Thursday.
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.