The Boston Red Sox got a scare Thursday night when Willson Contreras left early against the Texas Rangers after getting hit on the top of his hand in the eighth inning.
Contreras was in obvious discomfort right away and exited the game quickly, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa coming on as a pinch runner. Afterward, he described the injury in blunt terms, as transcribed by MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.
"Sore. Painful," Contreras said.
"My hand was numb for like five minutes. That was the reason I came out of the game.
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."
That’s the kind of update that naturally puts a fan base on edge, especially with less than two weeks left before the playoffs and an offense that has already been fighting to find its rhythm. The mention of a past fracture in the same hand only adds to the concern, even though the initial X-ray came back negative.
For now, the best possible outcome is simple: the pain fades, the swelling settles, and Contreras is back on the field Friday night on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays with nothing more than a bruise. At the very least, Boston would want to see him available at some point in the series.
That would be huge because Contreras has been the club’s most consistent hitter. He has played in 129 games and is hitting .276/.387/.518 with a .905 OPS, 27 home runs, 81 RBIs and 21 doubles, while also sitting at 4.6 wins above replacement. If he can return quickly, the Red Sox are in far better shape.
The downside is easy to picture, too. Curtis Mead dealt with a similar situation in July when a hit by pitch initially looked harmless after X-rays came back negative, only for further testing to show a fractured wrist. Mead has not played since, and it remains unclear whether the Red Sox will get him back before the season ends.
That’s the nightmare scenario for Contreras as well: the swelling goes down and a fracture shows up later, turning what looked like a brief scare into something much more serious.
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