Red Sox Announce Willson Contreras Injury Decision Before Rays Game

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The Red Sox announced an injury decision on Willson Contreras before Saturday’s game against the Rays after the veteran was hit on the hand.

The Boston Red Sox reduced their magic number for clinching a postseason spot to just two on Friday, when they knocked off the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 behind three RBIs including a game-opening home run by Roman Anthony.

The Red Sox send left-hander Payton Tolle to the mound Saturday against Tampa Bay, on a day when under several scenarios, Boston could nail down a postseason berth.

Before the Rays game, the Red Sox announced a decision on their injured, All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras.

Contreras is out of the Boston Red Sox lineup for a second straight game, still nursing the swollen right hand that led to his early exit on Thursday.

Interim manager Chad Tracy hasn’t ruled Contreras out for the rest of the Tampa Bay series, but Boston’s playoff push makes every missed at-bat significant.

Willson Contreras’ Hand Injury

Contreras left Thursday’s 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers in the eighth inning after a 92.3-mph sinker from Jakob Junis caught him on the right hand, with Texas leading 3-1 at the time. Boston pulled him for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and two batters later Trevor Story broke the game open with a three-run homer. Contreras finished 1-for-3.

X-rays came back negative for a fracture after Thursday’s game, with the club describing the injury as a bruise with swelling.

“Sore. Painful. My hand was numb for like five minutes,” Contreras said, according to MassLive. “I have fractured, before, the same hand. It felt like a fracture. Thankfully, it’s not a fracture on the top of the bone. I’m just frustrated.”

Tracy struck a similarly cautious tone Friday, laying out the treatment plan in detail.

“Obviously sore with some swelling,” he said, as quoted by The Boston Globe. “Over the next couple of days they’ll work on treatment and getting the swelling out and see if he can get grip strength.”

Nick Sogard filled in at first Friday and went 0-for-5 in Boston’s 4-2 win. He’s back in Saturday’s starting lineup at Tampa Bay with Contreras out again.

Contreras’ Red Sox Value and Postseason Outlook

The hand injury is the latest chapter in a season defined partly by how often Contreras gets hit. He’s been plunked 24 times this season, third-most in baseball, tying the career high he set with the Chicago Cubs in 2022. Only St. Louis’ Ivan Herrera and the Chicago White Sox’s Sam Antonacci have taken more, and Contreras has absorbed 146 hit-by-pitches since 2018, the most of anyone in the majors.

Contreras, 34, crowds the plate and has pointed out that other hitters do the same without getting hit nearly as often, a frustration he voiced bluntly after Thursday’s game.

“If nobody does anything about it, I’m going to keep getting hit,” he said.

Boston’s single-season franchise record belongs to Don Baylor, who was hit by 35 pitches back in 1986. Kevin Youkilis holds the career mark at 86. Contreras, in one Boston season, already has two dozen.

Contreras is hitting .276 with a .905 OPS, 27 home runs and 81 RBIs, leading Boston in all three categories since a December trade sent pitching prospect Hunter Dobbins and two others to the St. Louis Cardinals for the converted catcher.

There’s no indication yet that the Red Sox are considering an injured list stay for Contreras. He only returned Sept. 13 from a 10-day stint for a hamstring strain, and with roughly a week left, another IL move would cost Boston bench depth it needs for a likely wild-card rematch with the Yankees. October availability now comes down to swelling and grip strength.

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