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Red Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez undergoes shoulder surgery; Boston signs lefty reliever
Gonzalez is expected to miss at least the first two months of the 2026 season.
The Red Sox are going to be without one of their top platoon bats for at least the start of the 2026 season.
According to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Red Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez has undergone an “arthroscopic debridement” procedure on his left shoulder and will miss at least the first two months of the season.
Boston placed Gonzalez on the 60-day IL on Thursday, with MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reporting that Gonzalez’s procedure was more of a “clean-up” than a major surgery, which could have put his entire 2026 campaign in jeopardy.
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“There was fear heading into Gonzalez’s appointment that the prognosis could be much worse,” Cotillo wrote.
Gonzalez was a valuable player on Alex Cora’s roster in 2025, batting .305 with nine homers and 53 RBIs, and sporting an .826 OPS in 96 games with Boston. He was primarily utilized in a platoon role, routinely teeing off against left-handed pitching.
He initially injured his shoulder during the final days of the 2025 season and has not been cleared for baseball activities so far during spring training.
Gonzalez was expected to be a Swiss Army Knife for the Red Sox in 2026, potentially serving as a platoon bat with Marcelo Mayer at second base. He also saw reps at first base and third base during the 2025 campaign.
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With Gonzalez sidelined, the Red Sox bolstered their infield depth during the winter, adding versatile pieces like Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andruw Monasteri, and Caleb Durbin.
Red Sox sign lefty reliever
With two weeks to go until Opening Day, the Red Sox are bolstering their bullpen.
Boston announced on Thursday that it signed veteran southpaw Danny Coulombe to a one-year contract.
The 36-year-old lefty is coming off an interesting 2025 season split between the Twins and Rangers. In total, he posted a 2.30 ERA across 55 appearances — striking out 43 batters over 43 innings of work.
He was dominant during his time with the Twins, sporting a 1.16 ERA over 40 appearances. But, in his 15 games with Texas, his ERA ballooned to 5.25.
Boston will be banking on the veteran regaining his Minnesota form in 2026, as the Red Sox desperately needed another lefty in their bullpen.
Beyond Aroldis Chapman, the only other lefty in Boston’s projected bullpen before Thursday’s signing was Jovani Moran, who only appeared in two games last season.
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