Red Sox Hurler Sustains Injury That Could Prevent Him From Making Roster

Boston needs all the help it can get

Scott Neville | Feb 25, 2024

Red Sox Hurler Sustains Injury That Could Prevent Him From Making Roster /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have a few position battles scattered across the diamond as they attempt to find the perfect combination of players to compete next season.

The biggest battles occurring in camp are on the mound as both the rotation and bullpen have some vacancies. One of the players attempting to make the Red Sox's roster sustained a setback that could remove him from the Opening Day conversation.

"Per (manager Alex Cora), Bryan Mata pulled his right hamstring and has been shut down, which is significant because he's out of options and was in the mix for a bullpen spot," MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported Sunday. "Unclear how long it'll take."

Mata entered camp with a real chance to earn a role toward the bottom of the roster, likely as a middle-inning reliever. The 24-year-old is currently ranked the No. 24 prospect in the Red Sox's farm system according to MLB Pipeline.

Before suffering arm injuries -- one of which led to Tommy John surgery, Mata was deemed one of, if not the top pitching prospect in the organization due to his overpowering stuff, which features a triple-digit fastball.

Mata had a rough, injury-laden year last season, which led to a 6.33 ERA in just 27 innings for Triple-A Worcester. His last period of sustained health, however, was much more encouraging.

The right-hander went 7-3 with a 2.49 ERA, 105-to-46 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .201 batting average against and a 1.28 WHIP in 83 innings across levels spanning from Single-A through Triple-A during the 2022 season, his first post-surgery.

Now he'll once again have his career altered by an injury, which is extremely unfortunate given his natural talent. He also will have to battle control issues, which in the long run could be a bigger problem than his recent ailments.

Regardless, there still is a strong chance he ends up making his big-league debut this season so he's certainly a name to watch.

More MLB: Red Sox's Alex Cora Names Which Players Have Made Opening Day Rotation

Published Feb 25, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu