Red Sox: Injury Updates

Updating the status of several Boston Red Sox players that struggled with injuries last season.

Sox Winter Weekend is here and that means Red Sox Nation gets the chance to meet a lot of the players on the upcoming 2016 roster. Throughout the entire weekend festivities where players bond with families, it is also time for sportswriters to ask certain players how they are doing with specific injuries they have had in the past and how they are doing with the rehab process.

Christian Vazquez was the future everyday catcher going into the 2015 season. But after having Tommy John surgery, his season came to a close before it even started and the trio of catchers like Ryan Hanigan, Sandy Leon, and Blake Swihart shared the catching duty throughout the 2015 campaign. With Vazquez’s return coming soon, people are questioning whether or not his arm is still there. In 2014, fans saw that his gun to any base was one of the best in the business. The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham said, via Twitter, that he looked great. Vazquez, known as a “thick catcher”, has lost 25 pounds so far during this offseason. Also, he has been throwing 100% this past week and mentioned that his strong throwing arm was still there. With Vazquez, Swihart and Hanigan fighting for the two spots on the Major League roster, you want to think that Vazquez could be the guy we loved in the second half of the 2014 season. If that was the case, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was on the Opening Day roster. Vazquez hopes to be throwing to bases next week so it seems like he will be ready to go when Spring Training is in full throttle.

Dustin Pedroia comes into this season with some serious question marks on whether or not he can stay healthy all season. When asked how his training has been this offseason, Pedroia said he has been training for more overall athleticism, whereas last winter he was training for more strength. Probably the better idea for Pedroia after his nagging hamstring injury last season. Overall athleticism is the better choice rather than strength training to reduce that specific injury. Pedroia has been sharing the face of Red Sox Nation, with David Ortiz, for years now and fans hope that he can stay healthy all year. If he were to be the second baseman we all know and love all season, he would do some damage both offensively and defensively.

Abraham then approached soon to be first basemen, Hanley Ramirez, to see how he was doing with weight situation and adjusting to his new position. To answer the question about Ramirez’s weight, Abraham said that he looks great and that Ramirez mentioned how shocked he was with Red Sox officials constantly going to the Dominican Republic to check up on him. Ramirez said he has never seen that before. With Ramirez transitioning from left field to first base, fans only have to watch this potential rollercoaster for one season due to the fact that when David Ortiz retires prior to the 2016 season, Ramirez will be replacing him as the new designated hitter. I believe that would be the best decision for Ramirez. It would decrease the chances of injury and having Ramirez worry just about hitting, you would his offensive production dramatically increase. In 11 games last season where Ramirez was the DH, he hit .319, hitting 5 home runs, and collecting 11 RBI’s.

Next: Rusney Castillo talks about adjustments

With everything going on during Red Sox Winter Weekend, the one disappointment was that the future ace, David Price will not be attending due to being trapped in a snowstorm in Nashville. But with positive news on specific players that have some doubters going into the 2016 season, you want to think that they may be proving some of this people wrong in the next couple of months.