Red Sox Hurler Expected To Be Out For Season After Latest Injury
The Boston Red Sox are coming off a high point in the season following Sunday's win against the Detroit Tigers but as per usual with the 2023 roster, there is some bad news mixed in.
The Red Sox claiming the rubber match of the Tigers series advanced them to just 2 1/2 games back in the American League Wild Card race led by Trevor Story's best performance this season. Boston also watched as Garrett Whitlock appeared to be back to his prime self in not only his first outing back since being activated from the injured list, but his first bullpen appearance of the season.
While that's all well and good, the news following the game goes in the other direction.
"Joely Rodriguez, who was placed on the injured list two weeks ago with a hip injury, suffered a setback recently and will be sidelined for an extended period of time," MassLive's Sean McAdam wrote Sunday. "Alex Cora said it was possible that Rodriguez won’t be returning before the end of the season."
Rodriguez has struggled on the whole this season, posting a 6.55 ERA with a 14-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .289 batting average against with a 1.73 WHIP in 11 innings.
The 31-year-old started the season on the injured list with a right oblique strain, returned for less than a month before going back down with left shoulder inflammation and has been out since July 31 with a hip injury -- which has put his season in jeopardy after the aforementioned setback.
Rodriguez's numbers are quite subpar but he tossed seven scoreless innings across six games and looked fantastic leading into the latest stint on the injured list.
The Red Sox could have used Rodriguez down the stretch given that Richard Bleier was recently released, leaving Brennan Bernardino as the only southpaw on the active roster. Fortunately, Bernardino has become a rising star (2.79 in 38 2/3 innings) this season out of nowhere.
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