The Red Sox may have picked the wrong time to stack up more questions.
Aroldis Chapman was unavailable in Boston’s win over the Texas Rangers because of a sore lat, and Red Sox interim manager said the club has been dealing with the issue for a few days. Boston plans to handle the 38-year-old carefully for now, which is not exactly the kind of update a team wants to hear with October looming and the Yankees waiting in the wings.
Chapman’s command has already been shaky over his last two outings, when he walked three batters. Whether the lat is connected to that wildness is unclear, but it’s enough to make his status worth watching.
Right now, it’s also unknown whether he’ll need a trip to the IL. Even if he stays active, being anything less than fully sharp only helps New York if these teams meet again in the postseason.
Boston’s late rally against Texas came without Chapman finishing things. After Trevor Story’s three-run homer in the eighth helped turn the game, Garrett Whitlock - another former Yankee - handled the ninth instead.
Chapman isn’t the only Red Sox issue. Willson Contreras was hit on the hand by a pitch in the win, and while initial X-rays were negative, he said the injury felt like hand fractures he’s dealt with before. He’ll undergo imaging and further tests to determine the full extent.
Contreras has already been hit 24 times this season, the third-most in baseball, and his frustration showed. “If nobody does anything about it, I’m going to keep getting hit.
That’s the way I see it. That’s it.”
That wasn’t the only sign of trouble in Boston’s lineup. Roman Anthony, who missed nearly four months with a torn finger ligament, has gone cold after a quick burst when he returned on August 30. Through September, he’s hit just .200/.268/.338 after looking lively in his first two games back.
For a Red Sox team already trying to dig out of a rough start, the injury list is starting to pile up at an inconvenient time.
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