Red Sox injury update: tests clean on Bogaerts, Sandoval
By Conor Duffy
The Red Sox have been dealing with a number of minor injuries lately, and fortunately, they’re going to stay minor for now. Xander Bogaerts, who was dealing with knee soreness after a funky slide into third base, underwent an MRI before yesterday’s game and the results were clean. Similarly, Pablo Sandoval, who left the game after being struck on the foot with a Stephen Strasburg curve (causing Hanley Ramirez to play third base for the first time in years), received an X-ray which showed no structural damage.
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The prognosis is equally positive for the Red Sox as Bogaerts, who sat out yesterday’s game against the Nationals, should return to action soon. The Red Sox have listed Bogaerts as day-to-day and manager John Farrell did not rule out the possibility of Bogaerts playing in today’s series finale as the Red Sox gun for the sweep.
Sandoval, who also received no bad news from his X-ray, has been diagnosed with a contusion in his left foot. Red Sox doctors will re-examine the Panda this morning, but it’s unlikely that they’ll find anything serious and the Red Sox will probably list Sandoval as day-to-day as well.
Both Bogaerts and Sandoval have been essential pieces of the Red Sox lineup in the early going, sporting slash lines of .433/.500/.533 and .306/.375/.306, respectively. Bogaerts in particular has been seeing the ball well in recent days, prompting some to predict a breakout year from the 22-year old shortstop. Sandoval is yet to show any definite improvements from his move to Fenway Park (all two games of it), with no extra base hits to date, but he has reached base consistently and one must figure that it’s just a matter of time.
In any case, this is good news for the Red Sox. If either of the two players were forced to take a trip to the disabled list, the Red Sox would have had to dip into their reserves, likely either Deven Marrero or Garin Cecchini. That could have put a damper on the offensive rhythm that the Red Sox have been in, but for now the good times should keep rolling for the Red Sox.