Concerns Grow As Red Sox Superstar Scheduled To Miss Third-Straight Game

Boston will try to win a series despite the star's absence

Aug 17, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers (11) runs to first base after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports / Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox are fighting for their playoff lives, which is exactly when a team usually depends on its superstars to step up the most.

But lately, Boston's has been missing in action.

Thursday evening, the Red Sox will try to win their third game in a row to win the series against their American League East rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays. And for a third-straight night, they will be without their best hitter.

Third baseman Rafael Devers, who has been nursing two bad shoulders for the past month, is not in the team's starting lineup against Toronto in the series finale. Rookie Nick Sogard, who was called up Thursday afternoon to replace injured infielder David Hamilton, will start at third and bat eighth.

Devers' absence from the lineup Wednesday wasn't necessarily cause for alarm. It has been well-documented that both shoulders had been bothering him, the left one since March, and the right one since late July, when he dove for a line drive in Colorado.

However, now that he's missing a third-straight game, after playing 105 of the last 107, something seems amiss. Manager Alex Cora had initially indicated that the absence wasn't expected to be long-term, but it's already going on longer than anticipated.

"He’s not getting worse but he’s not getting any better," Cora said Wednesday, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. "I talked to him before Game 2 [of the doubleheader] and said, 'Just let me know.' He texted me last night like, ‘It’d be good to get one,’ so we’ll see. If he needs two or three, we’ll do it. We have to take care of him. And I think it’s smart to do."

Though his overall season numbers are still the best of his career, Devers has been in a noticeable slump for much of August. He had a .222/.300/.429 slash line in the final 13 games before his absence, though that stretch did include his 200th career home run.

It is not yet known if Devers may be available in a pinch-hit capacity Thursday night. If the rubber match against the Blue Jays is close, it would sure be nice for Cora to be able to call upon his three-time All-Star.

The longer this goes, the more realistic an IL stint becomes. And the Red Sox have to thread a delicate needle here--they need Devers in order to compete for the playoffs, but they also don't want him to get more injured playing games that don't end up mattering.

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