Red Sox pitcher Steven Wright will have season-ending surgery

Boston Red Sox knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright is done for the season after opting for surgery on his ailing left knee.

The hits just keep on coming for the Boston Red Sox, but not the kind we were looking for that occur at the plate.

This hit comes to the depth of the pitching staff, as right-handed pitcher Steven Wright has become the latest Red Sox pitcher to succumb to injury. The team announced on Thursday that Wright will undergo a cartilage restoration procedure in his left knee that will effectively end his season.

Dr. Riley Williams III will perform the procedure Monday at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery.

It’s been a rough season for Wright, who is 1-3 with an 8.25 ERA through five starts. After breaking out with his first career All-Star appearance in 2016, Wright hasn’t been the same since injuring his shoulder diving back into second base as a pinch-runner last August.

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The Red Sox have called up right-hander Kyle Kendrick to take Wright’s turn in the rotation Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles. Kendrick hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2015, when he posted a brutal 6.32 ERA and led the majors in earned runs allowed. He hasn’t been any better this year, going 1-3 with a 6.00 ERA in four starts for Triple-A Pawtucket.

While anywhere near those numbers may actually be an improvement over what the Red Sox have gotten out of Wright so far this year, it doesn’t make him a viable long-term solution.

The impending return of David Price is the most appealing option to cure Boston’s rotation issues. Price threw a three-inning simulated game on Thursday and appears to be inching closer to a rehab assignment. We still don’t have a timetable for when the lefty will be back on a major league mound, but he’s making progress.

Can the Red Sox get by with trotting guys like Kendrick, Henry Owens or Brian Johnson out every fifth day until Price is ready or do they need to make a trade for a back of the rotation starter with more big league credibility? That’s the biggest question facing this team at the moment and it boils down to how confident they are that Price will return in the near future and perform to the high standards we expect from him.

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Let us know in the comments what you think the Red Sox should do – tread water in that fifth rotation spot for now or make a trade.