Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras eased concerns ahead of the MLB All-Star Game by providing an update on the foot injury that continues to cast doubt on his availability for Boston once the season resumes after the All-Star break.
While Contreras struck an optimistic tone, his comments also offered the clearest indication yet of whether he’ll be ready to take the field once the All-Star break is over starting Friday.
Asked directly whether the foot felt good, Contreras didn’t dress it up. “Not today,” he said, still working through soreness even as he called the injury “getting better,” according to comments shared by WEEI’s Rob Bradford. Adrenaline from Monday’s Home Run Derby, Contreras said, had masked some of the discomfort the night before. He did not, however, indicate any concern about missing more games.
Willson Contreras’ Foot Injury Explained
The injury traces to July 8, when Contreras fouled a pitch off the top of his left foot, near the ankle, during Boston’s win over the Chicago White Sox. He stayed in briefly, but could not finish the game.
“So when I’m in pain, that’s the only way I’m coming off the field,” Contreras said that night, according to MLB.com‘s Ian Browne. He downplayed the severity at the time, telling reporters he wasn’t worried about anything beyond a bruise and would know more once he woke up the next day.
No X-rays were taken. Tracy said the decision came down to how well Contreras was moving once he got back inside the clubhouse, a sign the club never viewed the injury as structurally serious. Boston’s medical staff has continued treating it as a day-to-day bruise rather than anything requiring imaging or a formal diagnosis.
Now, six days later, Contreras is still managing soreness, but he doesn’t expect it to cost him more games than his five-game suspension already has.
“When I get back to Boston, I’ll talk with the manager and explain what I can do, what I cannot do,” Contreras told Boston Globe reporter Alex Speier, in the comments posted by Bradford. “But I don’t think I want to miss any more days.”
How Injury Overlaps With Contreras’ Suspension
The foot problem lines up almost perfectly with a five-game suspension Contreras is serving for his part in a benches-clearing scrum against the Washington Nationals on June 30, after Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli shouted “Sit down, boy,” following a strikeout. Cavalli’s own suspension was likewise trimmed from seven games to five on appeal.
His ban, which began July 9, means Contreras won’t swing a bat for Boston again until Game 2 of a July 17 doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays. The overlap effectively hands him a built-in rehab window, one he’s already used to work out at Citizens Bank Park and take part in Monday’s Home Run Derby.
Cavalli apologized publicly for the “boy” comment, saying it was never meant as a racial slur, while Contreras threw his helmet in Cavalli’s direction as the benches emptied, the moment that ultimately triggered his own punishment.
Contreras enters the second half slashing .285/.379/.542 with 20 homers and 61 RBI, numbers that make his absence sting even with the extra rest attached. Boston is 43-48 and has won 14 of its past 16 games, but a healthy Contreras walking back into the middle of that order next week remains the Red Sox desired result.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Red Sox’s Willson Contreras Gives Foot Injury Update Before All-Star Game appeared first on HEAVY.