Red Sox Make Decision on 20-Home Run All-Star Before White Sox Game

Getty

The Red Sox made a decision involving a 20-home run All-Star before today's game against the White Sox. Here's what it means for Boston.

Willson Contreras is out of the Boston Red Sox lineup Thursday against the Chicago White Sox, a day after a two-play sequence left him limping off the field in Chicago.

The Red Sox made the decision to sit their 20 home run-hitting All-Star after an injury that makes the team’s already crowded injury picture even uglier for Boston, with left-hander Ranger Suárez landing on the injured list the same morning, forcing Boston’s front office to make new roster moves with All-Star break bearing down.

Contreras fouled a pitch sharply off his left foot in the third inning Wednesday night. He stayed in the game and took the field in the bottom of the inning, but on a routine fly ball he clearly felt severe pain while returning to cover first base and signaled to the dugout to remove him from the game. Romy Gonzalez replaced him at first.

“When I’m in pain, that’s the only way I’m coming off the field,” Contreras said, as quoted by MLB.com. “And it’s something that I thought we should take care of right away and not extend it.”

Boston announced Contreras had exited with a left foot contusion. He is considered day-to-day, and the Red Sox have not released further detail on imaging or expected absence length.

Contreras’ Status Amid Red Sox Winning Streak

Losing Contreras for any real stretch would endanger the Red Sox current hot streak, as they play their best baseball of what until the last two weeks had been a dismal season. The Red Sox have won five in a row and 10 of their last 12 games. Contreras entered Wednesday batting .287 with 20 home runs, 61 RBI and a .926 OPS, numbers that earned him his fourth career All-Star selection and made him the offensive centerpiece of a Boston lineup finally finding its footing.

The Red Sox enter their series finale against the White Sox at 42-48, fourth in the American League East but only three games out of an American League Wild Card spot, chasing their sixth straight win before moving on to a three-game set against the New York Mets.

Contreras’s absence Thursday is overlaps with the start of his five-game suspension, Red Sox reporter Sean McAdam reported shortly before game-time.

Brett Harris Recalled to Start at First Base

Filling in for Contreras at first base Thursday is Brett Harris, called up from Triple-A Worcester after Boston placed Suárez on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to July 6, with a left groin strain that will also cost the left-hander a trip to the All-Star Game, according to Red Sox insider Jen McCaffrey.

Harris only just arrived in the organization. Boston acquired him from the Athletics on July 1 in exchange for minor league right-hander Ben Hansen, immediately optioning Harris to Worcester after Oakland had designated him for assignment days earlier.

The 28-year-old was drafted by the Athletics in 2021 out of Gonzaga, debuting in the majors in May 2024. His career line sits at a modest .194 average with three home runs and 17 RBI across parts of three seasons in Oakland, though he’s shown far more thump in the minors, including a .336 average, five home runs and a .978 OPS this year at Triple-A Las Vegas before the trade.

His best pro season came in 2022, when he hit .290 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI between Double-A and High-A ball, earning organizational All-Star honors from the Athletics. Primarily a third baseman throughout his career, Harris will man an unfamiliar position Thursday, another adjustment in a week that’s already handed the Red Sox plenty.

GettyWillson Contreras #40 of the Boston Red Sox.