The Crimson Sox introduced they’ve positioned Tyler O’Neill on the seven-day concussion injured listing, retroactive to April 16. Rob Refsnyder was reinstated from the IL to take the energetic roster spot.
O’Neill suffered the damage on Monday when he collided with Rafael Devers whereas monitoring a shallow fly ball. O’Neill’s brow hit the again of Devers’ head. Devers stayed within the sport however O’Neill got here out. Whereas he initially cleared concussion protocol, he hasn’t performed in both of the final two video games. He’s evidently nonetheless not able to return and will probably be out for a minimum of one other 5 days. MassLive’s Christopher Smith tweets that O’Neill was recognized with a light concussion.
Acquired in one thing of a buy-low offseason commerce, O’Neill has been off to a scorching begin to his Crimson Sox tenure. He’s hitting .313/.459/.750 and is third within the majors with seven homers. O’Neill confirmed affect capability intermittently all through his time with the Cardinals, however he’d produced at a roughly league common degree from 2022-23. He’ll be a free agent for the primary time on the finish of this season.
In different damage information, supervisor Alex Cora stated the Sox are sending Devers for an MRI on his left knee (relayed by Sean McAdam of MassLive). The 2-time All-Star has performed by way of some discomfort within the joint in current days, though there’s nothing to recommend it’s associated to Monday’s collision. He was the designated hitter yesterday however is out of the lineup for this afternoon’s contest with the Guardians.
It appears the present spherical of imaging is generally precautionary. The Sox certainly need to rule out any risk that Devers is taking part in by way of some sort of structural situation that may necessitate a shutdown. He’s nonetheless day-to-day pending the MRI outcomes.
Devers has gotten off to a sluggish begin. He’s hitting solely .188 by way of his first 13 video games. An enormous 15.5% stroll charge has stored his on-base proportion at a decent clip, however Devers clearly hasn’t discovered his typical kind. His arduous contact proportion has been nicely beneath his regular degree. It’s possible that taking part in by way of discomfort — he additionally battled shoulder soreness round Opening Day — has contributed to the droop. Assuming there’s nothing considerably improper along with his knee, Devers shouldn’t have a lot situation recapturing his groove offensively.
There’s nonetheless added uncertainty to an already shaky Boston infield. Devers and Triston Casas flank a a lot much less imposing center infield group. Accidents to Vaughn Grissom and Trevor Story have pushed the likes of Enmanuel Valdez, Pablo Reyes and David Hamilton into significant roles. Story is out for the season, so shortstop will stay a query all 12 months until the Sox go outdoors the group.
Grissom, who began the 12 months on the shelf with a hamstring pressure, will take over second base inside two weeks. He started a minor league rehab task final Friday, opening a 20-day window for his activation to the MLB roster. Cora stated this morning that the Sox aren’t more likely to reinstate Grissom earlier than their forthcoming week-long highway journey (X hyperlink through The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey). Grissom didn’t get any sport motion in March, so he’s utilizing the rehab interval as one thing of an abbreviated Spring Coaching.