One of the bigger problems that have plagued the Boston Red Sox in 2023 have been their issues with injuries. While it is an absolute certainty that the front office should have done more this past offseason to bolster the starting rotation and to actually make a good faith effort to keep Xander Bogaerts around, it sure hasn't helped that some key players on both sides of the ball have been hurt.
Now that the first half is winding down, many are wondering what the latest news is on all of these guys on the injured list. Looking up the information can be hard to parse between team updates that say a lot of nothing and competing timelines from different people that probably don't know anything.
So, to make things a bit easier, here is a list of the guys that are currently on the mend for the Red Sox as well as what ails them and the latest on their recovery. Hopefully this makes things a bit easier.
Boston Red Sox Injury Updates
Chris Sale
Sale has been dealing with a stress reaction in his shoulder and hasn't pitched in a game since the beginning of June. More recently he had a second MRI that is usually not the best sign, but it appears that he has dodged major damage to his throwing shoulder and was cleared to begin throwing again a few days ago. The earliest he could return is the beginning of August, but it does seem like the team is going to take their time with the oft-injured Sale.
Trevor Story
This is the other big name on the injured list for Boston as Story had to have UCL bracing surgery on his throwing elbow back in January. This wasn't full on Tommy John surgery which comes with a lengthier recovery time and position players can usually come back more quickly than pitchers, but this was never going to be a short stint on the IL for a starting shortstop that needs to make long throws. However, he is doing infield drills including throwing as of now in addition to doing work in the batting cage. He could return as a DH in July, but he won't be back playing in the infield until at least August with the team not wanting to commit to any timeline just yet.
Joely Rodriguez
Rodriguez has been dealing with left shoulder inflammation since the end of May. While he isn't the most high impact reliever, his being out has definitely tested the Red Sox's bullpen depth from the left side. Fortunately, he should be back soon as he has made five rehab appearances without incident and could be back as soon as the week of July 4th.
Pablo Reyes
Again, not a huge name in terms of lost production but despite a total lack of power, Reyes was hitting over .300 before he went down with an abdominal strain almost a couple weeks ago. It does sound like he is about to start a rehab assignment and assuming there are no setbacks, a return the second week of July isn't a crazy expectation to have.
Richard Bleier
Yet another lefty reliever that is dealing with shoulder inflammation, Bleier was having the worst season his career until Boston put him on the shelf in late May. He did throw a bullpen session that went well, but he has not gone out on a rehab assignment yet. The best guess at the moment is that he will return in July sometime, but we will know more once he gets a little further in his throwing program and gets cleared to go faces some live hitters in the minor leagues.
Reese McGuire
You never want to lose any catching depth given how physically demanding and important the position is, but unfortunately Reese McGuire hurt his oblique a week and half ago. Obliques are very finicky injuries that can linger if you don't give them enough time to heal properly. We haven't gotten really any updates on how or what he is doing. Based on what we know about oblique injuries, late July or early August at the earliest is when we can expect to see him back on the field.
John Schreiber
Schreiber was having an excellent season out of the bullpen with a 2.12 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17 innings of work before suffering a right teres major (one of the muscles in the shoulder) strain. He is on the 60 day IL which limits when he can return, but it seems like his rehab is going well. Schreiber has thrown a couple bullpens and should get to face live hitters as soon as this coming week. Again, assuming there are no setbacks after that, he could go out on rehab assignment and return to the Red Sox by the middle of July.
Yu Chang
Boston's infield depth took another hit when Yu Chang had to have surgery on his left wrist due to a hamate fracture. Chang was already supposed to be done with his minor league rehab, but his wrist bothered him after an appearance in early June and the team slid him to the 60 day IL to give him some more time to heal up. It sounds like he is ready to start back up with his rehab assignment, though, and he could return in early July if he doesn't suffer anymore setbacks.
Corey Kluber
Now we are getting to the more speculative parts of the list. Corey Kluber has been dealing with right shoulder inflammation for a while now and while he is working out a bit, he has not started throwing again yet. Kluber isn't a young man and given the uncertainty over when he will actually be throwing, there isn't enough to go on to give a timetable. Just know he isn't coming back anytime soon.
Tanner Houck
Tanner Houck got to experience one of the worst nightmares for a pitcher when he was hit in the face by a ball in the middle of June which broke bones in his face. Houck had surgery at the end of June to put a plate in to stabilize everything and once he is a little further out from that surgery, we will know more about when he can return. The most important thing is that it looks like he will be okay, because those sorts of injuries are incredibly scary.
Adalberto Mondesi
Finally we come to Adalberto Mondesi who is still trying to recover from tearing his ACL back in 2022. The Red Sox traded for Mondesi in the hope that he would be able to recover and contribute with his speed and defense this season. Unfortunately, that isn't what has happened and the team has gone out of their way to say that he isn't doing any baseball activities at the moment and is focusing on regaining strength in his left knee and leg. If he comes back at all in 2023, it is going to be a while and he hits free agency after this season.