The Boston Red Sox head into Monday with a day off before their three-game wild-card series against the New York Yankees begins Tuesday night, and the break could offer a clearer picture of where some of their injured players stand.
Garrett Crochet threw another bullpen on Saturday and is trending up. Tyron Guerrero was placed on the Injured List with a shoulder strain and will not be able to return in 2026 unless the Red Sox make a deep playoff run.
Johan Oviedo has been throwing and started a rehab assignment before Triple-A Worcester’s season ended. Mickey Gasper is also on the radar after leaving the club’s game on Sep. 25 because of a biceps injury.
Boston has not announced the exact injury, but Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said it will probably "take him out."
Gasper’s status matters because he gave the Red Sox a season nobody saw coming. In just 67 games, he hit 10 home runs.
That was one more than Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. managed in 144 games. Gasper also finished with a higher WAR, posting 1.2 to Guerrero’s 1.1.
That gap is even stranger when you look at the money. Guerrero is in the middle of a 14-year, $500 million contract with Toronto and earned over $40 million in 2026. Gasper made the MLB minimum of $780,000.
It’s the kind of season baseball can produce and other sports usually can’t. A player on a minimum deal might beat a star for a night, or even for a short run, but over a full season it almost never looks like this. Gasper was the hottest player in baseball for a stretch in the summer, while Guerrero went through the most uncharacteristic season of his career.
No one would have predicted Gasper would finish with more homers and a better WAR than Guerrero before the year began. But that’s baseball.
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Tanner Houcks Red Sox Playoff Spot Suddenly Looks Far Less Safe
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The bigger question now is whether Houck has run out of time to make his case. Boston is expected to carry a postseason pitching group built around 12 other arms, and recent performance plus health concerns have put Houck on the outside of that projection for the moment. For a club trying to line up its best possible staff for a short October run, every outing and every roster decision carries extra weight, and Houcks path back into the picture suddenly looks much less secure. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Interest In Impact Bat Could Finally Force Tough Outfield Call
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For the Red Sox, though, the fit is not simple. Their current outfield mix already leaves limited room, so a serious push for Arozarena would almost certainly mean making a difficult roster decision elsewhere, with names like Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida looming over the conversation as potential moves become part of the equation. [Read more 🡒]