Betts’ wrist day-to-day, but no major damage
Losing Dustin Pedroia in late September is bad enough.
Same with Eduardo Nunez.
But Mookie Betts? Yikes.
The Red Sox’ most valuable player is dealing with inflammation in his left wrist, and while a CT scan revealed no structural damage, he is day-to-day.
And with just five games left in the regular season after last night’s contest against the Blue Jays, the Red Sox cannot afford to lose their best player for any of them. They have little choice in the matter
Betts visited a hand specialist yesterday, and it was determined, manager John Farrell said, that “he’s dealing with a little bit of inflammation. There’s no structural damage of any kind. He’s day-to-day, and (we) hope that he’s back to us in a short period of time.”
What a short period of time is with the playoffs beginning next week is anyone’s guess, but what’s certain is that wrist injuries for hitters are a big deal. Betts’ left hand is the bottom one when holding the bat, and thus he needs to keep his grip on the bat for longer. There’s more exertion there, and Betts said after Monday’s game that he felt a “sharp pain.”
The team does not know how Betts injured his wrist, but considering the right fielder also is dealing with a bone bruise on his right thumb, there is always the chance he was overcompensating with his left hand to make up for whatever discomfort he was experiencing with his right.
“I think he felt it in a swing a while ago,” Farrell said. “Here’s the thing: Mookie works his tail off, and when he doesn’t feel quite right, he’ll take hundreds of swings. That’s what you love about Mookie. He’s always trying to get better. I think at some point, there might be a volume-related thing here that can kind of irritate it. That’s part of who he is as a player. That’s what makes him so great as a player. I think there’s a balance in there sometimes.”
When asked if the injury was more hand than wrist, Farrell said he could not say for sure.
“It’s in the juncture of the two. It’s in the back of the left hand closer to the wrist,” Farrell said. “I can’t say that it’s solely in the wrist. There’s a ton of bones in there. He’s got inflammation.”
Rest, ice and anti-inflammatories are the likely treatment for Betts, but Farrell indicated the right fielder might not be down for an extended period of time given he tends to be a quick healer.
“I think the fact that the results that have come back, he takes a little comfort in that, knowing that he’s got some inflammation that we’re dealing with but not to the point where structurally anything’s going on,” Farrell said. “The fact is he’s out of the lineup. I think what he also showed was the ability to get back in the lineup quick, and . . . that could be a similar situation with this.”