Red Sox Top Slugger Reportedly Could Be Back Soon After Scary Injury

Boston could have one of its top sluggers back in the lineup soon

The Boston Red Sox currently are without the services of one of the team's top sluggers.

Boston landed former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Tyler O'Neill in a trade this past offseason and he has shined with the club. O'Neil has been one of the top hitters in baseball to begin the season and currently has seven home runs and is slashing .313/.459/.750 in 15 games played.

O'Neill currently is out after suffering a scary head injury in a collision with third baseman Rafael Devers on Monday, but he reportedly is making progress, according to The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey.

"O’Neill is doing just OK (Red Sox manager Alex Cora) said," McCaffrey said. "Sounds like he won’t be back by tomorrow. He’s working out but hasn’t done anything on the field yet and is continuing to get checked for concussion protocols but so far he’s cleared those tests."

Cora initially had hoped that O'Neill would return to the lineup on Thursday, but he will miss the contest. While this is the case, it sounds like he will be back very shortly which is a positive sign for Boston.

When O'Neill initially went down, it seemed like he could've suffered a significant injury. The fact that he has progressed and to this point has passed all of his tests in the concussion protocol is a great sign.

Boston's offense already has taken some major hits this season and can't afford many more. O'Neill's return will go a long way. Hopefully, he can return later this week.

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