The Red Sox may have caught a break at last.
After Ranger Suárez exited his July 5 start with left adductor tightness, the concern around Boston’s rotation only grew. The club has spent much of the season dealing with one injury hit after another, and the timing couldn’t have been worse with Connelly Early landing on the Injured List and Garrett Crochet already out.
Interim manager Chad Tracy said he was at least a bit “concerned” about Suárez, but a more encouraging picture emerged Tuesday. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo reported that Boston is still “hopeful” the left-hander can avoid an Injured List stint.
“Red Sox remain hopeful Ranger Suárez can avoid the IL and they'll see how he feels today,” Cotillo wrote on Tuesday. “As of now, they'll go Tolle/Bennett/Sandoval in Chicago.
That lines up Gray for Friday night [at] Mets. Saturday then in limbo with Tolle available for Sunday on regular rest.”
That’s the kind of update Boston badly needed. The Red Sox are suddenly only four games out of a playoff spot, and they’ve done it by going 8-2 over their last 10 games. The pitching has driven that surge, and Suárez has been right in the middle of it.
One of Boston’s three All-Star representatives, Suárez has posted a 3.15 ERA across 17 starts this season. If he can avoid an IL trip, that would be a major boost for a team trying to keep climbing back into the American League race.
For a club that has been hit hard by injuries - with Crochet and Roman Anthony both missing more than two months - this at least sounds like a positive turn. For now, the Red Sox appear to believe Suárez may have dodged something serious.
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For the Red Sox, Hamiltons latest step matters because his path to Milwaukee began in the six-player trade that sent him out of Boston, and he also happens to be a player the Brewers know well from before his time with the Sox. His latest setback leaves another small thread of that deal in motion, even if the bigger picture around the trade is still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]