More injuries for Sox
Tyler O’Neill joins the cast
The health hits just keep coming for the Red Sox.
On Thursday, the club placed Tyler O’Neill on the seven-day injured list, which is specifically for concussion-related issues.
Standing in the clubhouse following the team’s 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, O’Neill officially announced a concussion during an outfield collision with Rafael Devers during the Marathon Monday game.
In addition to several stitches and a black left eye, the outfielder has been experiencing a plethora of concussion symptoms. “I’ve had a lot of dizziness, so I’m still fighting through that a little bit,” he said. “Lot of fogginess first couple days, slow to think. It took me a little bit to recover from that, but I’m feeling better now. So, feel like I’m on the right path, just working through the last stages of lightheadedness and just a little more fatigue than I’m used to. But I’m thinking better now and I feel like I’m on the right track.”
Though O’Neill has been limited in his activities, he wanted to travel with the team on Thursday so as to stay in his routine as much as possible. His earliest activation date would be Tuesday in Cleveland. He’s been the team’s most productive hitter. Entering Thursday, his seven home runs — including a homer in Seattle’s, Anaheim’s, and Boston’s home openers — lead the Sox and rank second in the Majors. He also leads all MLB hitters in slugging percentage (.750) and OPS (1.209).
“First couple days after the collision were a little tough, but I’m feeling better now, so I know I’m progressing in the right direction,” he said. “We hit our heads pretty hard. Thankfully, Raffy’s okay.”
While Devers managed to avoid a head injury, an MRI Thursday revealed that the third baseman is dealing with a bone bruise on the inside of his knee.
“He didn’t feel great yesterday, he felt like he wasn’t able to stay on his leg,” Alex Cora explained hours before the official diagnosis. “I talked to him last night, I said ‘Well, let’s do this so we know.’ Hopefully, it’s what we think it is and we deal with it, and (he) gets treatment, all that stuff, but I think it’s more for him to (have) peace of mind.”
Though Cora was optimistic that Devers would be able to avoid going on the injured list, the third baseman was more cautious.
“I don’t know yet, but the thing that I know is, I don’t want to go back too soon and go back to (hurting),” Devers said via translator Carlos Villoria Benitez. “When I feel that I’m good to go, 100% to play, that’s when I’m gonna play. I’m not gonna rush myself, because I don’t want to get back to this same situation, so I’m gonna take my time to be ready.”
The third baseman went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians. He only played in five of the 10 games during the first homestand, and went 2-for-16 (.125) with four walks and five strikeouts. Through 13 games overall, he’s hit .188/.328/.375 with nine hits, three doubles, two home runs, five runs and five RBI, nine walks, and 10 strikeouts.
“He played because he wanted to play,” said Cora. “Just, he wasn’t able to stay on his back leg yesterday, he was out in front. He got a fastball, I think with men on second and third, he got two fastballs that he didn’t catch up with in a spot that he usually does. Mechanic-wise, he was off.”
Devers’ health has been a roller coaster throughout the start of the season. He missed multiple games during the opening series in Seattle as well as earlier in the homestand due to nagging shoulder soreness.
“He’s frustrated with the fact that he was feeling so good during spring training and the swing was on point, he made some changes and he was working, and all of a sudden, the shoulder and this knee thing,” the Sox skipper continued. “Been healthy throughout his career, right?”
While Devers said it was “good news that it’s nothing major,” he admitted that it was “kind of disappointing” dealing with injuries, something he’s largely avoided thus far in his career.
“Previously it was my shoulder, (then) it was my knee,” he said. “The shoulder is good. The shoulder went away and the other thing came.”
The usually-cheerful slugger showed some frustration towards the end, though.
“Every team goes through this,” he said. “Obviously, the press makes it bigger than what it is… We’re not even 50 or 100 games into the season.
“We still have time to play.”
More Red Sox injury updates
Nick Pivetta (mild elbow flexor strain) will throw his next bullpen on Saturday. “He’s doing good,” Cora said. “He feels he turned a corner. He’s gonna be OK.”
Vaughn Grissom won’t. His rehab assignment with Triple-A continues; he’ll play second base for the WooSox Thursday and Friday.
Romy Gonzalez’s MRI came back clean. “Now it’s about tolerating the pain or whatever he has going on and keep getting treatment, but as far as structurally, he’s good,” Cora said.
Strong-armed
The Red Sox starting rotation entered Thursday’s series finale with a 1.85 ERA, their lowest through 19 games since the Live Ball Era began in 1920. It’s a significant improvement over the previous franchise record, set by the 2018 rotation, who posted a 2.17 ERA over the same span.
Sox starters lead the Majors in ERA, WHIP (1.00), and opponent average (.205), and the pitching staff’s overall 2.74 ERA also leads the Majors. It’s the team’s seventh-best mark to this point in any season in the Live Ball ERA.
Headlined by Tanner Houck’s Maddux (a complete-game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches) Wednesday night — his third scoreless start of at least six innings — the rotation is also carrying the bulk of the workload so far. They’ve pitched a combined 102 innings to the bullpen’s 72 1/3; through the first 19 games of the last two seasons, the rotation only pitched 87 2/3 and 89 1/3 innings, respectively.