Pivetta (elbow) lands on IL
Injury to starter strains rotation
More bad news hit the Red Sox before the home opener at Fenway Park.
Just before noon Tuesday, the Sox placed starter Nick Pivetta on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow flexor strain. The team recalled lefthanded reliever Brennan Bernardino from Triple A Worcester to take Pivetta’s roster spot.
Pivetta had been struggling to bounce back physically after his first two starts of the season.
Based on that, the righthander was sent for an MRI that showed what chief baseball officer Craig Breslow described as a “mild” flexor strain; the ulnar collateral (Tommy John) ligament was found to be intact.
The Sox are hopeful Pivetta will be ready to come off the IL roughly when he’s eligible to do so.
“That’s a reasonable goal,” Breslow said.
Apart from a bout with COVID during the 2021 season, Pivetta had never been on the IL. After coming off a promising end to the 2023 season where he was asked to pitch as both a starter and reliever, Pivetta attacked the offseason and spring training with fervor, hoping he could build on last season’s results.
“I was trying to push the limits with getting ready earlier — facing hitters, getting my body ready earlier,” Pivetta said during spring training. “Usually it’s a more gradual buildup. This year, it was hit the ground running, go 100 percent the whole entire time [in spring training], and act like every pitch is your last — this is going to be the last time playing, every single outing. I think having that intensity and carrying that throughout the whole entire year is what I’m focused on.”
His offseason work, which included honing more of a sweeper pitch, paid early dividends. Pivetta yielded only one run in 11 innings through two starts. But injury quickly followed, adding to a pattern for pitchers across the majors, including teammate Lucas Giolito, who was lost for the year in spring training when the starter had to undergo an internal brace procedure.
Though disappointed Tuesday, Pivetta was heartened that he appears for now to have avoided worse.
“That it’s not major is something that’s positive. It’s definitely negative that I have to miss time,” he said. “Hopefully it’s just a short amount of time and I can come back and just continue to do what I’m doing.”
With the Red Sox coming off an offday, the team will not need a fifth starter to replace Pivetta until Saturday.
Kutter Crawford, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck will all move up their scheduled starts by a day. Breslow said Chase Anderson (who has made a pair of longrelief appearances) and Cooper Criswell (who pitched Sunday for the WooSox and would be able to start Saturday on five days’ rest) were under consideration to fill Pivetta’s rotation spot.
“I think we’re going to read and react over the next few days, but thankfully we have a little bit of depth built up right now,” Breslow said.
Rehab stints on deck
Injured outfielder Rob Refsnyder (toe) was on hand for the game and said he’d start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday. Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) will start a rehab assignment over the weekend, primarily at second base (the position where the Sox believe he represents the best fit), but with occasional reps at shortstop (where he played while coming up in the Braves system).
Grissom, who was at Fenway for a check-in and his first home opener with the Red Sox, said the injury that sidelined him is no longer an issue.
“I’m feeling really good. I’m excited,” Grissom said. “It’s finally good to be up here. To be here with the home team is different for me. I’m just taking it all in.”
Rafaela deal due soon
While Ceddanne Rafaela’s eight-year extension with the Red Sox is not yet official, members of the team offered the 23-year-old center fielder congratulations in the clubhouse prior to the game. Breslow said the Sox hope to have an announcement of a deal “in the next day or so.”
Rafaela is hitting .212/.263/ .364, but his defensive value has been obvious in the early going, with two game-saving catches.
“Defensively, he is who he is, and there’s a reason he’s here with us. We made a decision [to have him be the season-opening center fielder] based on his defensive talent and so far it’s been good,” manager Alex Cora said. “Obviously he’s a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish and a big part of what the organization is trying to accomplish in the future.”
Gonzalez in for Dalbec
With Bobby Dalbec having been optioned to Worcester on Monday, Romy Gonzalez, who can play all four infield spots as well as center and left fields, was called up. Gonzalez was hitting .321/ .375/.821 with three homers and six extra-base hits in seven games for the WooSox . . . The start of the game was delayed when a Netflix camera person riding a Segway along the first-base line was slow getting off the field.
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack. Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.