The injuries and the losses are stacking up for the Boston Red Sox. They’d suffer another one of each on Sunday, as starting catcher Carlos Narvaez left Boston’s loss to the Atlanta Braves with an injury.
Narvaez would leave the game with what the Red Sox announced as “right third finger pain.” In his place, Connor Wong would finish the game for Boston behind the plate. After the game, interim manager Chad Tracy shared a relatively positive injury update.
“Just a little jam of his finger right here,” Tracy said. “He felt something on a swing. He wanted to continue, but it was a little sore. So, I felt like it was best to get him out of there with that score and not have him take another swing, make it worse.
Tim Healey of The Boston Globe would add to that, reporting that X-rays on the finger were negative. Healey would also quote Narvaez, saying he “felt something” with the finger on Friday after a slide. Today, it bothered him after making contact on a swing. Narvaez added, “When I took off my glove, it was a little sideways, so I just put it back.”
Narvaez is hitting .218 with two home runs and 3 RBIs this season. He also has a .284 OBP, a .345 slugging percentage, and a .629 OPS. All of those numbers are down across the board from where he was a season ago when he finished sixth in Rookie of the Year voting.
Boston Red Sox Catcher Connor Wong is Banged Up
GettyBoston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong
For the Boston Red Sox, injuries are adding up. That includes having two of their biggest-name players, Garret Crochet and Roman Anthony, on the injured list. Adding Carlos Narvaez, as the starting catcher, would be a major blow.
The Narvaez injury is particularly concerning given that backup catcher Connor Wong is banged up. On Wednesday night, Wong rolled his ankle trying to track down a pop up. At the time, Chad Tracy was positive about the injury, but Wong also hadn’t played since then.
In his time replacing Narvaez on Sunday, Wong was 1-for-2 at the plate. He also scored the Red Sox’s only run in an 8-1 loss.
The Red Sox also recently called up Mickey Gasper to the major league team. A versatile player, Gasper can play catcher as well as first base. That included him catching Payton Tolle for the team’s win on Saturday night.
The Red Sox Are Not Out of Playoff Hunt Despite Slow Start
GettyBoston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela
At 19-27 on the season, the Boston Red Sox are currently in last place in the AL East and 11.5 games back in their division. It’s an awful start for a team that had playoff aspirations, and things haven’t changed since manager Alex Cora and several key assistants were fired.
Still, it’s a long season, and the Red Sox are in no way out of the playoff hunt just yet. ESPN’s Buster Olney explained this in a social media post from before the Red Sox lost on Sunday afternoon to the Braves.
“The AL parity: The Royals have lost 6 straight games, and are 19-27,” Olney wrote. “The Red Sox have one of the worst offenses in their history. Boston starts today 2 games out of the race for the last wildcard spot; KC is 2 1/2 games behind.”
The Red Sox didn’t end up gaining ground from when Olney put out his thought on parity in the American League. At the same time, it’s an important point. There are a lot of Wild Card spots up for grabs this season and, to this point, nobody seems to want to grab them. So, the season is far from over in the middle of May.
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