5 moments that derailed the Red Sox 2022 season
Triston Casas’ ankle sprain
Late last spring, a source intimated that if Triston Casas got off to a strong start in Triple-A, he’d debut earlier in the season and the Sox would include Bobby Dalbec in some form of trade.
Instead, Casas sustained a high-ankle sprain in May and missed nearly two months of the MiLB season. As a result, the Sox had to stick with Dalbec and try to teach Franchy Cordero to play first base. When neither of them could get the job done, the Sox acquired Eric Hosmer at the trade deadline, contingent on the San Diego Padres paying the remainder of his salary.
Unfortunately, the arrival of the four-time Gold Glover turned out to be a temporary fix, as he, too, went on the Injured List after playing just 12 games for his new team. The Sox finally called Casas up in September, and Hosmer returned for the final series of the season, but of course, by the time both of them arrived, it was too late.
And now, the Sox have to figure out what to do with Casas, Hosmer, Dalbec, and Cordero.
What a mess.
Kiké Hernández’s injury
There are two ways to make people appreciate greatness: by showing it to them, and then by taking it away.
Within Kiké Hernández’s first two seasons in Boston, both happened. In his first year, the super-utilityman proved himself to be an excellent defender, particularly in Fenway Park’s tricky centerfield triangle. In the postseason, he tied David Ortiz’s record of five home runs in one playoff run.
But in 2022, Hernández became one of several significant injuries, and because of how valuable he’d become in just one season, his absence was particularly difficult to sustain. In early June, the Sox had to put him on the IL with a hip flexor strain. By late July, the 10-Day IL became the 60-day.
The Sox were 30-27 and riding a seven-game winning streak when Hernández went on the IL; it ended the following day. When he returned on August 16, his team was 58-59, and by the end of the month, they were 63-68 and the season was all but over.
Trevor Story getting hit by a pitch
Horrible hit-by-pitch injuries were a dime a dozen this season. Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, and Mickey Moniak on the Phillies, Starling Marte from the Mets, Trevor Story and Chris Sale, to name a few of this season’s victims.
Story had already been hit in the head during a late April game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but ended up staying in the game. It was on July 12 that he sustained an injury that would sideline him for a considerable stretch.
In the fifth inning of a game at the Trop, Tampa Bay Rays righty Corey Kluber’s pitch made contact with Story’s hand. The infielder immediately went to get checked by a trainer and then left the game. The injury, first thought to be a contusion, was eventually diagnosed as a hairline fracture.
At that point in the season, Story had 15 home runs and 58 RBI under his belt and his team was 47-41. By the time Story returned to the lineup, it was August 27 and the Sox were 62-65.
Chris Sale getting hit by a pitch
In a brutal coincidence, Chris Sale’s first start of the season was the game in which Trevor Story got hurt, and he’d end up joining him on the Injured List five days later with a similar affliction.
In the Story HBP game, Sale had shut out the Rays for five innings. It was a promising season debut for the unlucky southpaw, who’d missed almost exactly two years of play between August 2019 and August 2021 due to elbow inflammation, pneumonia, Tommy John surgery, and coronavirus.
The following turn in the rotation, Sale faced the Yankees on July 17. In the bottom of the first, his pitching hand received the full force of an Aaron Hicks line drive, which fractured his pinky. He had surgery the following day.
Sale was actually expected to return before the end of the season, but less than a month later, he went for a bike ride after a throwing session and broke his wrist. Another surgery, another season over.
The Red Sox chose Jarren Duran over Jackie Bradley Jr.
Breaking from the pattern of revisiting injuries, we have the Jackie Bradley Jr./Jarren Duran decision.
Days after the August 2 trade deadline, the Sox shocked fans by designating Jackie Bradley Jr. for assignment and releasing him. It was a puzzling week altogether. Sox brass claimed they were upgrading at the deadline in order to make a postseason push (hilarious), but parted ways with two of their most veteran members, Bradley and Christian Vázquez, within days of one another.
Releasing JBJ made much less sense than trading Vázquez, though that was definitely a derailing moment, too. But with Vázquez, the Sox acquired intriguing prospects in exchange for the impending free agent. With Bradley, they made the decision to release a player they were obligated to pay, knowing that any rival team could then scoop him up for the league minimum.
And that’s exactly what happened. The Toronto Blue Jays grabbed Bradley, and he returned to Fenway two weeks later, where he seemed to make every Red Sox out in his familiar outfield territory. Worse yet, the Sox paid him millions to do it.
If you’re wondering why the Red Sox would throw away a Gold Glove outfielder with great postseason experience whom they had to pay regardless, the answer is Jarren Duran.
Not a good answer, as it turns out. Duran began the season with Triple-A and spent most of the spring coming up and down from Worcester. He didn’t hit or defend well during his various big-league stints, most notably, bungling and essentially giving up on chasing down a fly ball, which resulted in Blue Jays outfielder Raimel Tapia completing an inside-the-park grand slam.
But since he’s young and supposed to be part of the team’s future, the Sox decided to give him a real shot. Again, not something you do if you’re trying to contend, though most fans didn’t buy that anyway.
The trial run lasted less than a month. On August 27, they optioned him back down to Worcester to activate none other than Trevor Story.
Not long after, the Sox made another move that displayed a lack of confidence in Duran. Despite missing more than two months, the Sox extended Kiké Hernández through 2023. Presumably, this bridges the gap to rising superstar Ceddanne Rafaela, who also plays centerfield. That doesn’t leave much room for Duran…
Tanner Houck’s back injury
Tanner Houck made a stellar debut as a starting pitcher in 2020, but in 2022, he was finding success out of the bullpen. Over 28 relief appearances, he posted a 2.70 ERA and held opposing lineups to a meager .214/.298/.289 and only six extra-base hits.
Unfortunately, Houck’s burgeoning bullpen success came to a screeching halt in early August. At the time, the Sox were miles out of the division race, but still within striking distance of one of the three Wild Cards, and at the very least, a winning record was possible.
But after back-to-back scoreless appearances on August 1 and 2 that earned him a pair of saves and cemented victories over the Houston Astros, Houck didn’t pitch again.
On August 8, the Sox announced his IL stint, retroactive to two days prior. A month later, Alex Cora gave the update that Houck needed season-ending back surgery.
Garrett Whitlock’s season would end prematurely not long after due to a hip ailment that also required surgery, but by then, the season was already a lost cause.
The Sox were 53-52 after Houck’s last appearance. They finished the year 78-84.