More than a dozen: The Red Sox’ early season injuries list
Despite being down several starting hitters and pitchers, the Red Sox went 17-13 in April.
The Red Sox finally received some good news on the injury front to conclude an opening month that was full of setbacks.
Garrett Cooper’s first game with Boston ended prematurely, taking a 94.8 mph fastball from San Francisco’s Sean Hjelle on the wrist in the fifth inning. The first baseman immediately left the game, recording just three plate appearances before the injury in the Red Sox’ 4-0 win Tuesday over the Giants.
But the Sox breathed a sigh of relief following Tuesday’s win. Alex Cora said Cooper avoided a major injury.
“He’s doing OK,” Cora told reporters. “Just sore. We’ll see where he’s at tomorrow. We dodged a bullet there.”
It certainly seems like the first bullet the Red Sox have dodged this season. Cooper was already brought in on an emergency basis, with Boston acquiring him in a trade from the Chicago Cubs on Saturday after Triston Casas suffered a rib cage a week earlier. Casas was moved to the 60-day injured list shortly after the trade.
The injury news has been constant for the Red Sox this season, seemingly suffering a lineup- or rotation-changing ailment in each series. All the constant injuries predate the start of the season, with a couple of key players going down in the opening weeks of spring training. Let’s take a look at each notable injury the Red Sox have suffered so far.
March 2: Vaughn Grissom ruled out for Opening Day after groin injury
Grissom was set to be the Red Sox’ starting second baseman on Opening Day after acquiring him in a trade with the Braves for Chris Sale over the offseason.
But a wrench was immediately thrown into those plans. Grissom suffered a groin strain during fielding drills in a spring training practice, with the Red Sox immediately ruling him out for Opening Day. Enmanuel Valdez has been the team’s primary second baseman since the season began.
Grissom was finally set to make his Red Sox debut on Tuesday, but the flu caused his debut to be delayed a bit longer.
March 5: Lucas Giolito suffers elbow injury, needs surgery
The righty’s first season in Boston likely ended before it officially began. Giolito felt discomfort in his pitching elbow in the opening weeks of spring training, causing him to undergo an internal brace procedure a week later to help repair his UCL.
While it was implied that Giolito would miss the entire 2024 season at the time of the surgery, he recently said on “The Chris Rose Rotation” that he “absolutely” feels his recovery is trending well enough that he could return before year’s end.
“I’m following the protocol, but at the same time, trying to push the envelope as much as I can because I’d love to come back sooner rather than what’s projected,” Gilito said. “But it’s a lot of people’s decision, not just mine. That’s pretty much my life right now.”
March 12: Rob Refsnyder goes down in spring training game
The veteran outfielder suffered a broken toe during an exhibition game, causing the Red Sox’ outfield depth to take a hit to start the season.
Refsnyder made his season debut on April 18. He has been one of the team’s best hitters since return, hitting .379 with a homer in 10 games.
March 29: Rafael Devers misses first of several games due to shoulder injury
The Red Sox’ star slugger dealt with injuries nearly right out of the gate. Following an Opening Day win over the Mariners, Devers missed a pair of games due to a shoulder injury that was bothering him over spring training.
Devers avoided a stint on the injured list. But he wound up missing 11 games in April because of the shoulder injury and later a knee injury.
April 5: Trevor Story suffers season-ending injury
After having his first full, healthy offseason with the Red Sox, Story’s 2024 season ended after a week. He fractured a glenoid in his left shoulder after diving for a groundball against the Angels, requiring surgery.
Story’s injury came after he was out until August of last season due to surgery on his throwing elbow. That injury caused the Red Sox to try out several options at shortstop throughout the year.
April 9: Nick Pivetta heads to injured list
The Red Sox rang in their home opener with bad news. They placed Pivetta on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow flexor strain.
Pivetta began the year as the Red Sox’ No. 2 starter following a strong end to the 2023 season, going 5-4 with a 3.30 ERA in 73 2/3 innings over 16 appearances. He went 1-1 in his first two starts, posting a 0.82 ERA with 13 strikeouts to just one walk.
The good news is that Pivetta is progressing toward a return. He’ll make a rehab start on Thursday, and if all goes well, the next time he takes the mound after that will be on the big league roster.
April 11: Trevor Story’s replacement heads to injured list
Just days after the Red Sox learned Story would be done for the season, the team lost one of his top replacements. Romy González went on the 10-day injured list due to a wrist sprain, playing just two games after replacing Story.
April 12: A reliever goes to the injured list
The injury bug made its way into the Red Sox bullpen a couple of weeks into the season. Righty reliever Isaiah Campbell suffered a shoulder impingement that caused him to be placed on the 15-day injured list.
Campbell, who was acquired in a trade with the Mariners over the offseason, didn’t have the best numbers in his first handful of games with the Red Sox, recording a 12.79 ERA. However, he helped eat some innings early on as he made seven relief appearances in the first two weeks of the season.
April 13: Tyler O’Neill suffers scary injury, but avoids long-term absence
O’Neill began his Boston career as one of the best power hitters in baseball, hitting seven homers in his first 15 games with the team. But he had to put a brief pause on that, suffering a concussion when he collided with Devers during a loss to the Guardians on Patriots’ Day. That was also when Devers suffered the aforementioned knee injury that briefly sidelined him.
After a seven-day stint on the injured list, O’Neill already seems like he’s back in form. He’s hit .333 with two homers in the six games since his return.
April 16: Another starter heads to the injured list
Garrett Whitlock took his turn to go to the injured list after suffering an oblique strain. He posted solid numbers after moving back to the rotation at the start of the season, going 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA in his first four starts.
As the Red Sox tried out Whitlock in the rotation for a third straight year, this also marked the third straight season that he’s suffered an injury significant enough that he’ll miss time.
April 20: Triston Casas goes down
Just as the Red Sox were set to get O’Neill and Devers back into the lineup, the team lost another middle-of-the-order hitter. Casas suffered what was eventually diagnosed as a cartilage tear in his ribs on a swing during a first-inning at-bat against the Pirates.
The Red Sox expressed concern over Casas’s injury from the start, expecting him to be out for some time. There wasn’t a timetable presented for his return, though he’ll be out for at least two months due to the 60-day injured list placement.
Casas said he expects to return later in 2024. Following a breakout at the end of his rookie season, Casas hit .244 with a .857 OPS and six homers in his first 18 games of the season.
April 23: More depth goes to the injured list
In a cruel twist, catcher Tyler Heineman was placed on the 10-day injured list just two days after being called up for Casas due to a hamstring injury. At the time of his call-up, Heineman was the last available position player the Red Sox could call up from their 40-man, showing just how injured they were in the opening weeks of the season.
April 24: The Red Sox lose their ace
The starting rotation continued to get hit by injuries as April progressed. Brayan Bello was placed on the 15-day injured list due to lat tightness, making him the fourth starter since spring training to be placed on the injured list.
Cora said the placement was precautionary, likely a good sign for Bello’s recovery timetable.
Bello was the Red Sox’ Opening Day starter this season, going 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA in his first five starts.
April 28: Masataka Yoshida departs game early
After spending a head-scratching amount of time on the bench to start the season, left Sunday’s win against the Cubs early due to a hand injury. The details on his injury are still scarce as he’ll undergo an MRI, but the team doesn’t expect to miss much time.
April 30: Red Sox conclude the month 17-13
Despite all of the injuries since the start of camp, the Red Sox enter May four games above .500 and just 2.5 games back of the Orioles for the lead in the AL East.
The team’s rotation is the reason for the strong start. The pitching staff has an MLB-best 2.59 ERA while the starting rotation has a 2.00 ERA. Tanner Houck leads the way, posting a 1.60 ERA through his first six starts of the season.
Cora, who’s in the final year of his contract, feels good about where the team is at through one month of play.
“We’re playing good baseball,” Cora said. “It’s one month out of the season and we still got a long ways. We just gotta continue doing the things that we’re preaching. We’re playing better defense, we’re running the bases better, the offense is gonna be better, the pitching is gonna be consistent.
“So let’s see. Win the series tomorrow and we’ll continue to roll.”
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