The early days of spring training can be dominated by the discovery of new injuries that keep teams and fans on edge as Opening Day looms. The Boston Red Sox have done well in this respect so far, with mostly expected injuries keeping them down. One of the few surprises is a doozy, however.
Romy Gonzalez, who posted a breakout season for the Red Sox last year, arrived at camp with a left shoulder issue, lingering from an injury he sustained in one of the final series of the 2025 season. He's been shut down from baseball activities and mostly limited to playing catch so far this spring.
According to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, it's been four weeks since Gonzalez received a platelet-rich plasma injection that is supposed to help reduce his pain. He has to wait another two weeks before checking in with doctors again, at which point he could be cleared to participate in more varied activities. Gonzalez said he's still dealing with "lingering discomfort."
Healey also reported that Gonzalez has been diagnosed with "a little tear" in his shoulder (subscription required). Despite that, Gonzalez alleges he's making progress and that the size of a shoulder tear doesn't always correlate with the severity of the symptoms the injured player may experience.
Red Sox's Romy Gonzalez has 'a little tear' in his left shoulder, still shut down from baseball activities
Gonzalez's recovery could keep him on the sidelines until after Opening Day, which is a troubling development for Boston. The righty emerged as a valuable platoon option against lefty pitchers last year, with a .331/.378/.600 and .978 OPS against them.
Gonzalez is also athletic and defensively versatile, with experience at every position besides catcher. Most of his experience comes in the middle infield, making him a valuable insurance option if an infielder were to fall injured — with Mayer and Story in the mix, that's a real possibility.
In the days leading up to spring training, the Red Sox signed Isiah Kiner-Falefa, then traded for three more infielders: Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler. Boston has plenty of infield depth that could take Gonzalez's rightful place on the roster, but it will miss him while he recovers. He cemented himself as a key righty bat on the Sox's roster and appeared in nearly 100 games last season, so his roster replacement will have big shoes to fill.