With the 2017 season starting this weekend, the injury bug has not been kind to the Red Sox. Hoping to get the injuries out of the way early, here’s a look at their impact going forward.
As much as it is unavoidable over the stretch of the regular season spanning 162 games, injuries are a part of a typical major league season. Bodies break down at certain points, and nagging injuries sometimes drag on for longer than expected, while other guys kill rehabilitation and join their respective teams in no time. For the Boston Red Sox, it appears the injury bug is alive and well.
Spanning back to the beginning of last season, injuries have hit the Red Sox particularly hard, and oddly harder, their acquisitions. Carson Smith, Craig Kimbrel, David Price, Tyler Thornburg, Josh Rutledge and now even Mitch Moreland have been down and out at some point since their Red Sox service time started kicking.
With the Red Sox opening their season in a Monday matinee Fenway-style against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Sox are faced with a challenge as the season starts trying to overcome that deficit, noticeable in the depth of the infield but more glaringly in the bullpen.
As challenging as the injuries may be to overcome, better it be in early April than in the dog days of August in the midst of what theoretically could be close in the AL East race.
Before the season gets going, let’s take a look at those injuries, ranking their significance for importance sake based on how long the player looks to be out and what their respective absences will mean for the Red Sox.