As they sit tenuously in third place in the American League East Division and just one game back in the AL Wild Card hunt, the Boston Red Sox got some disappointing news about left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton.
After the Red Sox placed him on the 15-day Injured List Monday, Paxton told reporters the following day that he had been diagnosed with a partial tear of his right calf muscle (after being optimistic it wasn't that bad of an injury). As a result, he is set to face an absence of six-plus weeks. While he will still try to rehab the injury in an effort to make it back before the end of the season, he acknowledged that it's a race against the clock that he could very likely lose.
When the Red Sox traded to get Paxton back from the Los Angeles Dodgers last month, the hope was that he could help shore up their battered starting rotation that had been depleted by injuries to Liam Hendriks and Lucas Giolito, among others. Instead, it now looks like they will have only gotten three starts out of Paxton before he, too, headed to the IL.
Paxton recorded a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings of work with the Red Sox this season before exiting his third start after recording just two outs. His injury could open the door for right-hander Quinn Priester, whom the Red Sox acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the trade deadline in exchange for infield prospect Nick Yorke, to slot into a starting rotation that now includes Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta and Brayan Bello.
Alex Cora shares update on Red Sox slugger Tyler O'Neill, and it's not good
As if losing Paxton wasn't bad enough, the Red Sox also figure to be without veteran slugger Tyler O'Neill for longer than initially expected. O'Neill was sidelined with an illness in Texas earlier this month, but things took a turn for the worse when he landed on the IL due to a calf infection last week. Though he is eligible to be activated as early as Wednesday, it doesn't appear that he will be.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters after Tuesday's win over the Texas Rangers that O'Neill's recovery was "taking a while" and that the 29-year-old was "frustrated." There is still no timetable for his return.
In the meantime, the Red Sox are at least expecting Triston Casas to return this week, so that should help with the loss of O'Neill's power.
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