Red Sox drop Tuesday lineup and fans are upset about key player’s absence

The Boston Red Sox released the lineup for their series-opening contest against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. Despite a new addition to the infield, a player many Sox fans have been hoping to see is absent from the bunch.

Vaughn Grissom will not start Boston's game against San Francisco. The second baseman has been on a rehab assignment with the Worcester Red Sox that is nearing its end and many fans expected to see the infielder on the roster by April 30.

Grissom had not been officially called up to the Red Sox at the time of the lineup's release. Boston would need to make room for him on the 26-man roster, which means a player would either need to be transferred to the injured list or optioned.

After the release of the lineup, it was reported that Grissom had not been called up because he has the flu, which will even further delay his debut with his new club. A timeline for Grissom's first appearance has not been given.

Red Sox April 30 lineup features Garrett Cooper, lacks Vaughn Grissom and Masataka Yoshida

Another new Red Sox will get his debut against the Giants, though. Garrett Cooper, Boston's solution for Triston Casas' absence at first base, will get the start over their previous option, Bobby Dalbec. Cooper swung the bat well in his 12 games with the Chicago Cubs, and he's batting .270/.341/.432.

Grissom is not the only notable absence from the lineup. Masataka Yoshida was pulled from the Red Sox's April 28th matchup with the Cubs after he jammed his hand during an at-bat. Manager Alex Cora expressed concern for Yoshida's hand, but the designated hitter said he would wait and see how it felt before he pursued imaging for the potential injury.

It has been reported that Yoshida saw a hand specialist and that he'll get an MRI on May 1 to determine the severity of his injury.

Cora started Rafael Devers and Tyler O'Neill in the DH spot multiple times as they both recovered from injury, which led to Yoshida spending an excess of time on the bench in favor of options with hotter bats. Since his return to play, Yoshida has been strong at the plate and he's slashed .318/.375/.477 in his last 13 games.

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