The Boston Red Sox were minutes away from taking game three of their series against the Detroit Tigers for their first sweep of the season when something came up that risked spoiling their win.
Willson Contreras paused his ninth-inning at-bat to shake out his left hand out after a swing. The first baseman felt around his palm for the source of his discomfort, but kept on with his at-bat. On his next swing, he winced and examined his hand again, but continued playing with a new bat before grounding out.
An injury to Contreras would be an utter disaster for Boston. The Red Sox are already in unfortunate shape when it comes to other injuries — Roman Anthony is day-to-day with a sprained hand (which looked frightfully similar to Contreras' injury), Garrett Crochet and Johan Oviedo are on the injured list and interim manager Chad Tracy is hoping to avoid an IL stint for Ranger Suárez's hamstring soreness, but a plan for him hasn't been confirmed.
After the game, Tracy tried to assure reporters that Contreras' injury isn't too serious. His response left room for doubt, however.
"It's popped up, if you guys have seen, a handful of times over the week. Every once in a while he'll take an awkward swing and it'll flare, but I think he's gonna be alright," Tracy said.
Willson Contreras shook off hand injury against Tigers, Red Sox and Chad Tracy say it should be okay
The manager's response was hardly a resounding "he's okay," but as long as the team knows what he's dealing with and he can keep playing, the Red Sox should be in good shape. Contreras has been one of Boston's best players all season and losing him for any stretch of time would be deeply unfortunate for its offense and defense.
Contreras is slashing .264/.376/.481 with four doubles and a team-leading eight home runs through 36 games. He's also played outstanding defense at first base, where the Red Sox have been severely lacking in recent years — he's logged six outs above average for 98th percentile range and four defensive runs saved. Contreras is also a spark plug on a team desperate for some life and his high energy has helped Boston look alive during its early offensive struggles.
The Red Sox will have to monitor Contreras' hand until his injury (hopefully) clears up. They don't have another comparable candidate to play first base, especially after Triston Casas' rehab was halted due to another rib injury. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andruw Monasterio are hardly inspiring options at the corner so Boston needs to ensure to the best of its ability that Contreras stays healthy.
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