Red Sox Place Hurler On Injured List, Call Up Former Fan Favorite Slugger

Boston cannot afford to keep losing key pieces

Scott Neville | Apr 12, 2024

Apr 5, 2024;Apr 5, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) checks on / Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

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Boston Red Sox

It was just a few days ago that the Boston Red Sox were 7-3 after a 10-game West Coast road trip and appeared primed to shock the baseball world with a competitive season.

At full strength, that might have been the case. Unfortunately, the Red Sox cannot escape the injury bug and continue to lose key players.

"Isaiah Campbell to the injured list with a shoulder impingement," MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported Friday. "Bobby Dalbec is up."

Campbell struggled in his last two appearances, allowing nine runs (eight earned) against the Orioles. He's up to a 12.79 ERA after opening the season with five impressive outings.

The news comes following a sweep the Baltimore Orioles to start the first homestand of the season at Fenway Park. Just hours before Opening Day, it was revealed that right-hander Nick Pivetta was placed on the injured list with an elbow flexor strain and that shortstop Trevor Story would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.

Rafael Devers is dealing with a shoulder injury that has plagued him since spring training. The star third baseman was held out of Thursday's series finale against the Orioles, when manager Alex Cora elected to lose the designated hitter spot -- by moving Masataka Yoshida into the outfield following the Reese McGuire ejection -- over placing Devers at third base. It appears that Cora was electing to put a pitcher in the lineup over Devers in extra innings had it gotten that far.

The 27-year-old appears to be hampered in a limited sample size, hitting .184 with four extra-base hits including two home runs, three RBIs and a .721 OPS in 10 games this season. The 15.2% walk rate -- up from a career 8.1% -- might be the most telling. Devers typically is deemed a free swinger but has not unloaded his A-Swing as often thus far and might be pulling punches to a degree.

Cora told reporters that Devers could get back into the action for Game 2 against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday but it does appear to be an injury that could follow him for a while.

Romy Gonzalez was also on the shelf with a wrist sprain but told Cotillo that the injury would only set him back two to three days. The versatile middle infielder was a key replacement for Story, as he is a far superior defender than middle infielders David Hamilton, Pablo Reyes and Enmanual Valdez.

Now Bobby Dalbec is once again back on the active roster, which is a direct reflection of Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow's unwillingness to add depth this offseason. The 28-year-old former top prospect has kicked off the season 0-for-9 with six strikeouts.

Dalbec has a whopping 54.8% strikeout rate in the last two seasons, spanning 58 at-bats. While it's harder to play with inconsistent plate appearances, the first baseman is getting worse, not better, with age. The Red Sox need to find a solution that does not involve calling up a first baseman who cannot hit.

Fortunately, he's likely just a gap filler until Gonzalez is cleared to play again, likely in a few days.

More MLB: Red Sox Hurler Gives Encouraging Update After Injury Scare Vs. Orioles

Published Apr 12, 2024

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