Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Hurler Reportedly Could Miss Opening Day Roster Due To Latest Injury

Boston's roster is starting to dwindle
Scott Neville|
Red Sox Hurler Reportedly Could Miss Opening Day Roster Due To Latest Injury
Red Sox Hurler Reportedly Could Miss Opening Day Roster Due To Latest Injury

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have had to deal with numerous injuries over the last couple of weeks and there appears to be no signs of slowing down.

The significant and likely season-ending elbow injury to right-hander Lucas Giolito was the biggest headline from Fort Myers this week but he's far from the only injured Red Sox player.

Each day more ailments come to light, including one hurler whose comeback trail could be extended.

"Zack Kelly has a sore oblique making him a candidate to start the season on the injured list," MLB.com's Ian Browne reported Thursday.

Kelly posted a 3.86 ERA with a six-to-eight strikeout-to-walk ratio, .219 batting average against and 1.61 WHIP in just 9 1/3 innings last season but missed majority of the season after having ulnar nerve transportation revision surgery.

Now the 29-year-old has a much smaller ailment that could delay his season, though Kelly is confident that he'll be ready to go for Opening Day.

"Zack Kelly said he expects to pitch off the mound by sometime next week and expects his oblique tweak to not impact availability for the beginning of season," WEEI's Rob Bradford reported Thursday.

Kelly will have to hope that the trainers and staff are as optimistic as he is, we've seen players make similar declarations and then be held back by the organization.

The young hurler is far from the only player injured in Red Sox camp. It was also reported today that Tyler O'Neill is dealing with left calf tightness that will keep him off the field for a few days. Shortstop Trevor Story was a late scratch for neck stiffness on Thursday.

Newcomers Vaughn Grissom and Giolito already are on the shelf as is the team's lone All-Star from last season, closer Kenley Jansen.

Most of the aforementioned ailments are short-term but it's tough to see a roster with so little depth be hampered this early on.

More MLB: Red Sox Name Surprising Candidate To Potentially Make Opening Day Rotation

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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