Sox Top Prospect to Have Brain Surgery

The news broke yesterday that Ryan Westmoreland, one of the highest rated players in the Red Sox farm system, has taken a medical leave from Minor League camp due to a cavernous malformation is his head. The Red Sox, out of respect for Westmoreland and his family, had little to say about the situation except the focus now is on supporting him and his family as he goes through this difficult surgery.

"A cavernous malformation is a vascular issue which, according to an audio report on the Mayo Clinic Web site, is a group of “abnormal, thin-walled blood vessels.” Typically, cavernous malformations don’t cause symptoms and are often only discovered if doctors are looking for something else via a brain MRI exam.If the malformation bleeds, it can cause stroke-like symptoms, seizures, numbness, vision changes or other neurological problems. – Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com"

This gut-wrenching news has sent shock-waves through the Boston community and beyond, but is not something this organization and fan base is unfamiliar with. In August of 2006, young lefty Jon Lester was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma. The Red Sox community gathered around and supported Lester as he went through treatment and eventually returned the the big leagues to great success. We certainly hope Westmoreland pulls through with the same remarkable results as Lester did a few years ago.

Westmoreland has a bright future in baseball, but that is the last thing on his mind right now. I wish him the best and pray that he gets the treatment he needs to come back stronger than ever. My heart goes out to Ryan and his family in this time of need.