Red Sox: Martinez and Betts out of lineup as injuries continue to pile up

Things are continuing to go downhill for the Boston Red Sox as they’ll be without a pair of their biggest stars as they face the Giants tonight.

As if things couldn’t get worse for the Red Sox they’ll be without some big names as they face the Giants at Fenway Park tonight. Mookie Betts will once again be out of the lineup due to foot inflammation and now J.D. Martinez is out due to tightness in his groin. With a little over a week left in the season, this is on par for how 2019 has gone for Boston.

On-top of losing Martinez and Betts for the now, the Red Sox are also shutting down injured starter David Price for the rest of the season. It was a rumor coming out of the weekend and was confirmed by Alex Cora today.

Oh, and Sam Travis got beaned in the head last night while he was sliding into third base and had to leave the game and is in the concussion protocol. This season has been an absolute disaster and it feels like the baseball gods just aren’t done with the Sox just yet.

The injury bug has made itself right at home in the Red Sox clubhouse this season as this team has never once been fully healthy this season. Boston is all but eliminated from the postseason as the number is down to three, there’s no reason to risk getting these guys hurt even more than they are. It may be blasphemy to say shut the whole damn thing down but I think we’re at the point that we should shut the damn thing down.

As it stands right now, Boston could be fully eliminated by the weekend and then they’re playing for nothing. I don’t see any reason in risking the future health of any of the injured players for a season that’s dead in the water.

Martinez could easily see that tightness in his groin become a tear. Betts could injure his foot worse and alter his abilities going into next year. And Price is on the books for foreseeable future and it would behoove Boston to let him heal.

It’s tough to look at the schedule coming up knowing that the games won’t mean anything and still trotting out everyone despite health concerns. The biggest thing to me is making sure J.D. is able to be as close to peak health that he can be going into the winter.

If the Sox can handle this groin issue well it could give him more of a desire to stay. I know that sounds weird but think back to Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs, he felt they mismanaged his injuries and it fueled his desire to leave.

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Having any concern about his health and playing status met with the utmost level of care could ease any thoughts that Martinez may have about his future. Again, it may sound silly, but with his potential opt-out coming very soon, anything in Boston’s favor is a plus. Having a training staff that knows the quirks of his body and his current as well as previous injuries could play a big factor come this offseason.

This season got away from the Red Sox and it did so in a hurry. Right out of the gates things were going off course and unfortunately, they were never able to get things back on track. Boston has some serious talent and can find themselves right back in contention next season if things go well this winter. The most important item on the agenda is to get everyone as healthy as possible before February and the trip to Fenway South gets here.

Boston heads into the offseason with two of their aces on the mend in Price and Chris Sale. Michael Chavis still hasn’t returned from his stint on the IL and likely won’t with the season almost over. And Martinez has visited the Injured List multiple times in 2019 though this latest lineup scratch is precautionary. The bottom line is this medical staff is going to have their hands full getting this lineup healthy this winter.

The Red Sox are in for a long offseason between free agency, a heavily injured roster, and the search for a new GM. With this season finished, for the most part, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more names being added to the “shut down list.” Boston needs to set the focus towards 2020 and beyond and it may be wise to get a head start on that plan now.