The Boston Red Sox awaited news on three of their recently injured players — Masataka Yoshida, Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten — after they underwent MRIs. Unfortunately, the news on all of them isn't good.
Red Sox fans immediately feared the worst when Yoshida's leg quit on him while he was running out a double on August 15. The designated hitter took an unsteady step while running and flopped into the second base bag.
According to multiple sources including Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, Yoshida's hamstring strain has been classified as "significant." The injury will keep him out of commission until close to the end of the regular season "at least," in interim manager Chad Tracy's words.
Losing Yoshida is a tough pill for Boston to swallow. He'd been hitting exceedingly well for the past month to the tune of a .296/.360/.469 slash line in his last 30 games. He's up to a .274/.347/.399 slash line on the year with 33 strikeouts, 28 walks, 16 doubles, a triple and five home runs over 87 games.
Red Sox get brutal injury update on Masataka Yoshida's hamstring, good updates on Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten
Yoshida's injury means more playing time will have to go to Jarren Duran — at least for now. Duran's at-bats this season have been a brutal watch as he's only slashing .203/.262/.353 with a whopping 142 strikeouts over 117 games. Roman Anthony will begin a rehab assignment on August 18 after three months on the injured list with a brutal hand injury, so he'll be ready to take some pressure off Duran soon, but not soon enough.
To go with Boston's bad news about Yoshida and the excitement of Anthony beginning a rehab assignment, the Sox got some good news on injured relievers Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten, who have both been sidelined with elbow inflammation, which could be a sign of a disastrous internal injury like UCL or flexor tendon damage. The two hurlers underwent MRIs, which revealed no structural damage.
According to Healey, both players are still shut down from throwing to get some much-needed rest. Tracy did not announce a timeline for either player's recovery, which is a good idea given Boston's poor estimates this year, but that also isn't a great sign for an exhausted pitching staff.
At least there's no serious damage to Whitlock or Slaten's elbows but the Red Sox bullpen will be scraping by without them. Not only are they two of the best arms the Sox have to offer but depth is key during a playoff race.
Add us as a preferred source on Google