Red Sox’ Willson Contreras injury forces another roster shuffle; Sonny Gray gets a breather

The Red Sox will be without one of their top run producers for at least the next 10 days.

Boston placed first baseman Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain and recalled Mickey Gasper from Triple-A Worcester to replace him on the active roster.

Contreras exited Sunday’s 16-1 loss to the Yankees in the seventh inning after his hamstring tightened up. The issue has bothered him for nearly a month and will now sideline him through at least Sept. 9.

Contreras has been open about the discomfort since early August and said he had permission from interim manager Chad Tracy and Boston’s coaching staff not to run at full speed when the situation didn’t require it. That hasn’t prevented him from hearing boos at Fenway Park on multiple occasions when he appeared not to run hard.

Contreras’ production has dipped with him hitting .217 with three homers, 12 RBIs and a .715 OPS in 23 games during August. He was particularly quiet during Boston’s road trip through Miami and New York, going 3-for-23 (.130) with a triple and seven strikeouts.

After starting 123 of Boston’s first 137 games at first base, Contreras will finally get an opportunity to rest the hamstring rather than continue managing it on a daily basis.

His injury also provides an immediate path back to Boston for Gasper, who was optioned to Worcester on Sunday along with Anthony Seigler when Roman Anthony and Trevor Story were activated from the injured list. Because Gasper is replacing an injured player, the Red Sox can recall him without waiting the usual 10 days.

Gasper will start at first base Monday, just his third start there this season.

The timing couldn’t be much better considering his recent production. The 30-year-old hit .423 (11-for-26) with five homers, three doubles, 12 RBI and a 1.710 OPS over an 11-game stretch before being squeezed off the roster.

“Very possibly he might win Player of the Week,” Tracy said Sunday. “So there’s a very good chance that you might get an American League Player of the Week that we just had to send down. I wouldn’t doubt it. So how difficult is it? Very difficult.”

Less than 24 hours later, Gasper is back.

Red Sox Giving Gray Extended Rest

Sonny Gray will not make his scheduled start Tuesday against Seattle, but there is no injury concern surrounding Boston’s best starting pitcher this season.

Instead, the Red Sox are using an opportunity to give the 36-year-old additional rest as they enter the final month of the season. Gray said he will make his next start Saturday against the Orioles in Baltimore, 10 days after his previous appearance.

“Take a few extra days, get your body right,” Gray said of the decision.

The move is part of Boston’s effort to manage its rotation down the stretch. The Red Sox recently pushed rookie Jake Bennett back because of workload considerations and are now doing something similar with Gray.

The timing is somewhat curious. Boston is in the middle of a stretch of 14 games in 13 days without an off day and doesn’t have an obvious replacement for Gray on Tuesday.

Gray has also preferred pitching on a regular schedule. The Red Sox arranged their August rotation in part to keep him on four days of rest whenever possible.

The veteran ranks fourth in the American League with a 2.82 ERA and leads Boston with 25 starts and 143 2/3 innings. His past two outings haven’t been quite as sharp, allowing four runs over six innings against the Giants before surrendering two runs in five innings against Miami.

Payton Tolle remains scheduled to start Monday against Seattle, with Patrick Sandoval lined up for Wednesday. That leaves Tuesday open.

Fortunately for Boston, rosters expand from 26 to 28 players Tuesday, allowing the club to add another pitcher for a spot start or potentially piece together a bullpen game.

“We’re just talking through what we want to do,” Tracy said. “It’s September and we’re talking through what do we want to do and how do we want to structure this rotation? … We’ll get more information as we go.”

Rafaela Still Adamant He Made Controversial Catch

Ceddanne Rafaela hasn’t changed his mind about the controversial play that helped open the floodgates in Sunday’s 16-1 loss.

With the game still scoreless in the fifth inning, Rafaela made a diving attempt on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s sinking line drive to center field. The ball was ruled a hit, though Rafaela immediately signaled toward the dugout that Boston should challenge.

The call stood after replay review.

Had it been overturned, Boston potentially could have turned a double play with a runner already on first. Instead, New York had two aboard with nobody out and went on to score five runs in the inning.

“I was really mad in the moment,” Rafaela told reporters. “I really wanted to help my pitcher there. And I feel that changed the whole game right there.”

Rafaela was even more definitive about whether the ball touched the ground.

“I know when a ball drops and a ball doesn’t drop. I know I made the catch,” he said.

He later took his frustration to Instagram.

“HA HA HA it’s ok,” Rafaela wrote. “It’s a man above that saw it.”

The call certainly didn’t account for everything that followed, the Yankees eventually scored 16 runs, but in a scoreless game at the time, it represented a significant turning point.

Flemming Apologizes After Yankees Comments

WEEI Red Sox radio broadcaster Will Flemming apologized Monday for comments he made during the eighth inning of Sunday’s blowout loss, acknowledging that his frustration with the Yankees crossed a line.

With New York comfortably ahead, Chisholm stole second and third before Austin Wells homered off Jovani Morán. 

During the sequence, Flemming suggested on air that Morán should hit Wells with a pitch and later said the pitcher should fight Chisholm.

“Wouldn’t you sort of like to see Morán drill Wells right here?” Flemming said during the broadcast.

He also called Chisholm a “bush league player” and said he “plays the game the wrong way.”

The comments quickly circulated on social media, and Flemming issued an apology Monday.

“Since I have been receiving nonstop calls and threats, I felt like it was important to hop back on here and say: My comments during yesterday’s broadcast crossed a line,” Flemming wrote on X. “I’m emotional and a fan at heart and that bled into the broadcast.”

Flemming added that he “meant no disrespect” to the Yankees.

“These rivalry games get me fired up; I apologize for letting the emotion of the moment get the best of me,” he wrote.

The frustration had been building throughout the broadcast. Flemming and analyst Will Middlebrooks had strongly criticized the replay decision on Rafaela’s fifth-inning diving attempt, with Flemming calling the ruling “ridiculous” and questioning the MLB Replay Command Center.

By the eighth, with the Yankees piling on in what eventually became a 16-1 rout, that frustration boiled over.

Flemming has been part of WEEI’s Red Sox radio broadcasts since 2019 after previously calling games for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate.

Garcia Earns Second Eastern League Player of the Week Honor

Johanfran Garcia continues to make his presence felt in Portland.

The Sea Dogs catcher, nicknamed “The User Name,” was named Eastern League Player of the Week for Aug. 24-30 after putting together a dominant four-game stretch.

Garcia went 10-for-18 (.556) with three homers, eight RBI and six runs scored, recording a hit in all four games and producing three three-hit performances.

His biggest night came Saturday against Richmond, when Garcia went 3-for-5 and blasted a pair of three-run homers, one in the eighth and another in the ninth, to drive in six runs during Portland’s 14-3 win.

The 21-year-old led the Eastern League in batting average (.556), on-base percentage (.619), slugging percentage (1.056) and OPS (1.675) for the week. His three homers and eight RBI were tied for second in the league, while teammate Justin Gonzales led the circuit with nine RBIs.

Garcia is now hitting .293 with 17 homers, 10 doubles and 51 RBIs in 72 games for Portland this season. MLB.com ranks him as the No. 29 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent in January 2022, Garcia is the younger brother of former Sea Dogs outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, appropriately nicknamed “The Password.”

This is Garcia’s second Eastern League Player of the Week award this season after also receiving the honor for June 8-14.

Sea Dogs players have now earned 10 Eastern League Player or Pitcher of the Week awards this season, another reflection of the amount of talent that has passed through Portland in 2026. Franklin Arias was also named Eastern League Player of the Month for April.

Yankees Claim Former Red Sox Reliever John Schreiber

The Yankees added another bullpen arm Monday, claiming right-hander John Schreiber off waivers from the Royals.

Schreiber, 32, posted a 3.65 ERA over 49 1/3 innings in 55 appearances for Kansas City this season before being placed on waivers over the weekend.

The move brings the former Red Sox reliever back to the American League East for the stretch run.

Schreiber, who will become a free agent after the season, has pitched for the Tigers, Red Sox and Royals during his eight-year major league career. He owns a 16-15 record with a 3.65 ERA, 13 saves and 42 games finished.

Detroit originally selected Schreiber in the 15th round of the 2016 MLB Draft.