Red Sox's Romy Gonzalez Declares Likely Injury Status for Opening Day

Not unexpected, but a blow nonetheless

Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Romy Gonzalez (23) takes batting practice before game one of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With four weeks to go before opening day, the Boston Red Sox seem to have their first position player ticketed for the injured list.

Platoon standout Romy Gonzalez reported to camp having received a platelet-rich plasma injection in his shoulder, after a nagging injury that carried over from last season wasn't recovering properly over the winter.

As of Wednesday, Gonzalez still had not begun baseball activities for the spring, and the writing seemed to be on the wall regarding his status for opening day on the road against the Cincinnati Reds. Still, it's good to hear from the player himself.

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Romy Gonzalez confirms likely IL stint to start season

Sep 20, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox second baseman Romy Gonzalez (23) runs two first base on a single against the Tampa Bay Rays in the eighth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Speaking on Wednesday, Gonzalez all but confirmed that he won't be ready to go by March 25, concentrating on being fully ramped up rather than ready to go by a specific date.

“Honestly, I don’t think so,” Gonzalez said, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. “At this point, I think the ramp-up would be a little too quick, and it’d be a disservice, I feel like, to myself and the team if I’m not ready to roll and have a good build-up."

With regard to timelines, Gonzalez indicated that the next update on his progress would come next Friday, March 6.

"We’re gonna check in here next Friday and then see where we go from there," Gonzalez said, per Smith. “I don’t think I’ll be able to start hitting next Friday, to be honest. But it’s just another evaluation with the training staff.”

It's hard to overstate how important Gonzalez was to the Red Sox last season in terms of performance relative to expectations. He was legitimately one of the best hitters in the entire sport against left-handed pitchers (.978 OPS) and ended up taking the starting second base job against righties down the stretch.

The candidates to take over Gonzalez's spot on the roster are returners Nate Eaton and Nick Sogard, plus trade pickup Andruw Monasterio and non-roster invitee Brendan Rodgers, who has a Gold Glove to his name.

It's still relatively early, but Monasterio seems to have impressed the most in spring training. There's also a chance two of the names above could be included on the opening day roster, depending on what the Red Sox decide to do with Marcelo Mayer.