The Boston Red Sox did plenty of work this offseason on bolstering their organizational depth across the board. Injuries always come over the span of a 162-game season, and unfortunately for Boston, one of the depth pieces it signed has already succumbed to an early season ailment.
Brendan Rodgers, a former gold-glove winner with the Colorado Rockies, was signed by the Red Sox on a minor league deal in early February, though he earned a Spring Training invite. Unfortunately for Rodgers, he suffered a shoulder injury last week against the Twins, and has received an unfortunate update about the severity of the injury.
âThe MRI and CT scan wasnât positive from his end so heâll seek that opinion over there,â Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. âMost likely heâs going to end up in surgery. What type of surgery? I donât know. Weâll wait and see what he has to say but thatâs probably whatâs going to happen.â
According to Cora, Rodgers is flying out to Los Angeles to consult with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon who is the head team physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Los Angeles Rams.
Rodgers was a longshot to make the Red Sox roster even before the injury, but this latest update means he will start the season on the injured list, in all likelihood.
Rodgers Suffers Shoulder Injury in Spring Training
The loss of Alex Bregman this offseason forced Boston to make moves to improve their infield depth, which they did by signing Rodgers, Willson Contreras, Caleb Durbin, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Contreras has already been announced the everyday first baseman and Durbin is likely to be the Red Sox everyday third or second baseman. Rodgers and IKF were both brought in to provide organizational depth, but it seems like Rodgers probably won’t be of help anytime soon.
Rodgers, 29, was drafted No. 3 overall in the 2015 Draft by the Rockies. He spent six seasons with Colorado from 2019-2024, and was with the Houston Astros last season.
His 2022 campaign was the best of his career; in 137 games, he hit .266 with 13 home runs and 63 RBI, won the NL Gold Glove at second base, and had a very strong 4.3 WAR.
Since then, Rodgers has only accumulated a WAR of 1.2 in the three seasons following 2022.
Red Sox Infield Beginning to Take Shape
It’s become clear in the last few weeks that four players have the inside track to starting the season in the Red Sox infield: Trevor Story at shortstop, Willson Contreras at first base, and Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer at either second or third base.
Romy Gonzalez may have competed for a starting spot at any of the positions, but he’s likely to start the season on the IL with a left shoulder injury.
Boston will have plenty of utility platoons in the infield to provide depth if there are injuries. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andruw Monasterio, Nate Eaton, and Nick Sogard will all be competing for likely two spots on the Red Sox bench to start the season. All have proven themselves as capable big leaguers and are all solid backup options.
Triston Casas is eyeing a late-April return, which may shuffle things around at first base.
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