In a massive blow to the Boston Red Sox's starting outfield, Adam Duvall's latest injury update is not a great one. He was forced to leave Sunday's game against the Detroit Tigers after coming up hurt from a dive to catch a Spencer Torkelson fly ball.
Right from the get go, the news was expected to be suboptimal for the Red Sox and their fans. Manager Alex Cora said after yesterday's game, "he's getting X-rays right now, so we don't know. We'll know more tomorrow."
Adam Duvall injury update: broken left wrist, expected to miss "weeks".
Tomorrow is here, folks, and the news isn't good. Per Ian Browne of MLB.com, Duvall has a distal radius fracture in his left wrist and will miss a minimum of "weeks". Browne says this injury typically takes four to six weeks to heal, so Duvall may be out of action for two or even three months.
This is a unfortunate twist of events for Duvall, who had started off the 2023 regular season on absolute tear, hitting four home runs with 14 RBI in eight games played. His .455/.415/1.030 slash line is one of the best in the majors and his 304 OPS+ leads the entire league.
These numbers are obviously not sustainable, but the red-hot start for Duvall was encouraging for a Red Sox fanbase that was largely unsure of what to expect when he was brought aboard on a one-year $7M contract this past offseason.
Now, the Red Sox are slated to trot journeyman Rob Refsnyder and/or Raimel Tapia out to play center field on an everyday basis. Neither of these two bring the same amount of offensive firepower that Duvall does, so there is going to be an immediate lapse in production for the foreseeable future.
Duvall, 34, missed significant time last season with an injury to the same wrist that will keep him out of action now. He has shown immense power over the course of his 10-year career and his bat will be sorely missed as he recovers from his latest setback.