Sonny Gray Exit Fuels Growing Red Sox Rotation Issue

The Boston Red Sox had another scare on Monday with Sonny Gray exiting the club's contest against the Detroit Tigers.

Apr 20, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox can't catch a break right now, to say the least.

Boston entered Spring Training with a surplus of talented starting pitchers. The Red Sox were expected to have a handful of guys vying for the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Brayan Bello and Ranger Suárez were the guaranteed four hurlers for the rotation. After that group, Boston had Connelly Early, Johan Oviedo, Payton Tolle, Kutter Crawford and Patrick Sandoval expected to be in the mix. Unfortunately, neither Crawford nor Sandoval was able to get into game action throughout camp and have both had setbacks while on minor league rehab assignments. Both were down in Triple-A, but have had their rehab assignments paused.

Oviedo is already on the Injured List as well.

On Monday, the hits kept coming as Sonny Gray was forced to exit the club's Marathon Monday contest against the Detroit Tigers in the third inning.

The Red Sox Starter Was Forced To Exit

Apr 14, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) looks on after a bulk is called on himself against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Sonny Gray left his start with an injury in the third inning pic.twitter.com/UicnwehDDy

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 20, 2026

Sonny Gray injury. pic.twitter.com/r5KRKaX8Yh

— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) April 20, 2026

Red Sox head athletic trainer Brandon Henry, manager Alex Cora and pitching coach Andrew Bailey all joined Gray on the mound in the third inning after he was seen walking around the mound gingerly. Gray threw a few warm-up pitches afterward, but he was then forced to walk off and exit the contest.

Boston simply cannot afford another injury at this point. On Sunday, it was reported that Red Sox No. 1 prospect Payton Tolle was scratched from a scheduled start for Triple-A Worcester as a precaution just in case the Red Sox were rained out and needed to have a doubleheader on Monday.

Boston didn't end up needing to promote Tolle for Monday's contest because the weather didn't force the club to cancel Sunday's tilt. If Gray needs to miss any time, the next obvious solution for the club would be bringing up Tolle in the short term.

After Tolle, the Red Sox are running out of depth arms. Boston No. 7 prospect Jake Bennett is down in Triple-A as well and being stretched out as a starter. It's somewhat shocking how quickly the pitching depth has depleted. If another injury pops up, then all of a sudden it will make sense to look externally. Former Boston fan favorite Lucas Giolito is somehow still available in free agency right now. Boston doesn't need to add just yet. But the club is getting dangerously close to that point with injuries all over the place.

As of right now, it's unclear if Gray will need to miss any time. As more information is provided, it will be shared here. On the bright side, it didn't look like Gray was leaving with an arm injury. It looked like an apparent lower-body injury, but the club hasn't announced the exact details at this point.