Curtis Mead didn't make it through two at-bats with the Boston Red Sox before the worst happened. The former Washington Nationals third baseman was hit by a pitch on the wrist in the fourth inning of Boston's July 27 game against the Athletics. He ran the bases and hoped to stay in the game but he couldn't pull through.
Mead's test results and process after the game left the Red Sox feeling optimistic. He could squeeze his hand just fine, though struggled with rotation. X-rays from Sutter Health Park showed no breaks and he was diagnosed with a contusion. Interim manager Chad Tracy went as far as to say Boston "dodged a bullet maybe."
But the bullet took a day to hit. Mead on July 28 woke up sore and went for an MRI, which revealed a fracture in his wrist that the initial x-ray missed. The Red Sox placed Mead on the 10-day injured list and sent him to Boston to see a hand specialist, where it could be determined that he needs season-ending surgery.
Even without the surgery, Mead's season might be over. According to Jane Goodrich, the infielder fractured the same wrist in 2023 while he was in Triple-A and his recovery took just over two months.
Red Sox keep making assertions about players' injuries without having all the facts and Curtis Mead is the latest victim
Mead's injury is one of the more brutal hands the Red Sox have been dealt in a while. The injury is totally out of anyone's control, but the way Boston handled it should absolutely be a lesson — especially because this isn't the first time this has happened this year.
The Red Sox were comfortable saying they might've "dodged a bullet" before they had all the information to make that conclusion. The x-ray machines at ballparks aren't perfect and don't show every little break. It wouldn't have been hard for Mead or Tracy to say "we don't have all the facts" before making general assertions about the infielder's health.
Boston did the same thing when Roman Anthony fell injured. The Red Sox announced that they were hopeful Anthony could avoid the IL, then he was diagnosed with a wrist sprain and labeled day-to-day. They placed him on the IL two days later. The dumpster fire didn't end there and Red Sox CEO and president Sam Kennedy later misstated Anthony's diagnosis in a radio appearance. Anthony has been sidelined since May 5 and he's still not at a point in his recovery where he can swing a bat.
Anthony's injury would've been a crushing blow no matter what, but it was made worse by the Red Sox butchering the diagnosis and the first days of his recovery. It isn't hard to hold off on giving injury diagnoses or timelines until all the facts are clear, yet the Red Sox continue giving fans and their players false hope just for it to come crashing down later.
Hopefully the Red Sox get lucky enough to see Mead on the field again this season, but it's possible that they may not. Their screw-up of the diagnosis will make everything that follows feel even worse.
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