The Red Sox have been battling being healthy all season long and they just took another gut punch yesterday when Mike Napoli was placed on the 15 Day DL.
Here is an overview of the current players on the DL:
Felix Doubront: Placed on the DL on May 21st. Felix reported that he felt numbness in his shoulder due to it being hit by a car door between starts. It is reported he could be back in early June, but I am always skeptical when it comes to timelines for pitchers. I have PTSD from Clay Buchholz and his injury timetable last season. I am crossing my fingers that this DL stint is a short one for Felix and that he gets back on track when added back to the roster. While Felix has been on the DL, Brandon Workman has been added to the 25 man roster to pitch in his place in the rotation.
Mike Napoli: Placed on the DL on May 25th. Napoli was officially placed on the DL for his displaced finger that he received at a game sliding into 2nd earlier in the season. Napoli is also suffering from a bunch of other ailments, so it seems like he needed the time to truly let his body heal. Missing Napoli in the lineup is a huge blow to the Sox and let’s hope he is just gone for the required 15 days. Initially the Sox had an extra pitcher on the 25 man roster (Alex Wilson) when they placed him on the DL, but there is an indication they will bring up a right handed bat to take his place sometime today. Farrell said said that Mike Carp will get most of the time at 1st base during Napoli’s time on the shelf.
Will Middlebrooks: Placed on the DL on May 17th. Middlebrooks broke his right index finger and that put him on the shelf for the 2nd time this season. Middlebrooks has never been able to keep himself healthy and on the field enough to truly be an asset to the team. As a result of Middlebrooks hitting the DL and there being some fielding issues on the left side of the infield, the Red Sox signed Stephen Drew for the remainder of the 2014 season. Drew is in the minors getting some at bats in and they hope to have him with the team in about 10 games or so. Drew will take over at shortstop and Xander Bogaerts will shift to 3rd base. If and when Will Middlebrooks is healthy again, it will be an interesting question as to what to do with him at that time.
Shane Victorino: Placed on the DL on May 24th. This was another huge blow to the Sox lineup. Shane was placed on the DL due to a hamstring strain. This is the second stint for Victorino on the DL and his presence will be missed in the field and at the plate. Daniel Nava was called up from AAA to replace Victorino and share time at the corners in the outfield with Jonny Gomes and Grady Sizemore. The outfield hasn’t done much in terms of offensive production, so the team will look to have Victorino back as soon as he is healthy enough to be in the lineup.
Steven Wright: Wright had surgery this winter for a sports hernia and was placed on the 60 Day DL on April 7th. When he is healthy enough to begin pitching again, he will most likely stay in AAA and not factor into the Red Sox plans for 2014.
Players who are beat up, but not on the DL:
David Ortiz: Papi was given the night off during the Tampa series and it was reported that he is pretty banged up at this point. It has been reported that Ortiz has a sore calf that has been barking at him. The Red Sox can’t lose him to the DL at this point given the other members of the team already on the DL.
Dustin Pedroia: Pedey always seems to be trudging through one kind of injury or another. Pedroia suffered a wrist injury early in the season and was even sent home to Boston to have an MRI during the Yankees series in April. Pedey received word that the injury was not serious, but given that his power numbers have been down this year, it has been speculating that he is playing through more than he is saying. It’ll be important to watch as the season progresses because he is another player that the Sox couldn’t stand to lose for any significant period of time.
Clay Buchholz: Everyone keeps reporting that he is not injured, but the pitcher does not look like the same guy as he was last year. His velocity is often down and he has not had a crisp outing yet in 2014. Buchholz needs to either make an adjustment or follow Doubront’s lead and head off to the DL himself.
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