All eyes are on Willson Contreras as the Boston Red Sox make one of the day’s biggest lineup calls for their season finale against the Chicago Cubs.
Boston announced Tanner Houck as the starter for its final game of the year, and Contreras is also back in the lineup as the designated hitter. It’s a notable return considering the hand injury he suffered on September 17, when a pitch struck the side of his hand. Imaging afterward showed no severe damage, only a bruise, though Contreras initially believed he had fractured the hand.
The concern lingered. On September 24, Contreras told reporters he could not swing a bat without significant pain, leaving his postseason availability in doubt. Even so, he’s back in the lineup against the team he used to play for.
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said Contreras has made "pretty significant" progress with the hand injury, according to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Tracy added that Contreras took batting practice and live BP on the Sox’s Saturday off day, though no update was given on how much pain he was still dealing with.
For Boston, the return matters. Contreras has been the club’s unexpected heartbeat this season, producing both on the field and in the clubhouse. He’s hitting a career-best .276/.387/.518 and leads the team with 27 home runs across 129 games.
He has also brought a relentless edge to the lineup, the kind of energy that can tilt a dugout and jump-start a rally. Boston has leaned on that all year, which is why his absence would have been such a blow heading into October.
That’s especially true with other parts of the offense dealing with their own issues. Ceddanne Rafaela has been battling quad and hamstring injuries this September, while Mickey Gasper is out for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs after a biceps injury.
The Red Sox are locked into the No. 5 seed, so game 162 carries no impact on the standings. Their next meaningful test comes against the New York Yankees in the Wild Card round, and Contreras figures to be a key bat against that pitching staff. After a lot of back and forth, the Yankees have apparently settled on Cam Schlittler for Game 1, Max Fried for Game 2 and Gerrit Cole for Game 3 if the series goes that far.
Boston is clearly taking a chance by putting Contreras back out there in a game that doesn’t count. If the hand isn’t ready and the injury gets worse, that could come back to haunt them in a series where there’s no room for error. But if he’s healthy enough to go, the Red Sox get something useful too: a live rep before the games that really matter begin.
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Red Sox Have 3 Under The Radar October Roster Decisions
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Gonzalez can help against left-handed pitching and give the club some cover at first base, while Gamboa has shown the kind of groundball-heavy relief work that can fit in a short series. Jones has also looked strong versus lefties since joining the Red Sox, which makes him another potentially useful piece if Boston wants to lean into matchups. The catch, of course, is that postseason benches are rarely roomy enough for everyone, and the Red Sox still have to decide which of these under-the-radar fits best into the October plan. [Read more 🡒]
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Mickey Gasper is also in the mix, though his status appears especially shaky heading into the series. He has been one of the more interesting small-payroll stories on the roster, with a 2026 season that compares favorably in some ways to Vladimir Guerrero Jr., including a higher home run total and more wins above replacement despite earning the minimum salary. For a Red Sox club trying to line up the right pieces for New York, the concern is not just who is hurt, but who is actually able to help. [Read more 🡒]
Tanner Houcks Red Sox Playoff Spot Suddenly Looks Far Less Safe
The Red Soxs pitching picture tightened over the weekend, and not necessarily in the way they wanted. With Boston needing to trim its staff to 12 pitchers by Tuesday, the club shuffled arms around again, placing Tyron Guerrero on the injured list, recalling Wyatt Olds and activating Tanner Houck from the 60-day injured list. Houcks return was a notable development on its own, but his first game back did little to settle anything as the Red Sox continue sorting out who belongs in October.
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 🡒]