Third base prospect Tyler Miller blasted a two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning off of Tampa Bay Rays reliever Jack Hartman at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida, Saturday, to give the Boston Red Sox a 6-4 victory over the Rays in Boston’s first game of the Grapefruit League schedule.
But the good news for the Red Sox ended there.
Otherwise, the team announced a series of concerning updates on the health of four players, including two starting pitchers, a promising rookie reliever, and a Gold Glove outfielder who placed sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting last year.
Abreu Shows Up to Camp With Debilitating Illness
The outfielder, of course, is 25-year-old Venezuelan right fielder Wilyer Abreu, who made his brief debut for the Red Sox in 2023 after Boston acquired him from the Houston Astros for catcher Christian Vasquez in a trade deadline deal the previous season. Vasquez was a key member of Boston’s last World Series championship team in 2018, and went on play on Houston’s World Series winner in 2022 before signing a three-year, $30 million free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins that winter.
But Abreu has become one of the best defensive right fielders in baseball, with nine outfield assists and 17 defensive runs saved â which led all MLB right fielders â in 2024, becoming the first rookie to win a Gold Glove for the Red Sox since Fred Lynn in 1975. Abreu also belted 15 home runs and 33 doubles.
However, almost two weeks into spring training, Abreu has been shut down from baseball activities, floored by a gastrointestinal virus. Abreu “reported to camp with the illness and has received some subsequent abnormal lab results. He has not swung a bat or participated in fielding drills since he started feeling sick,” according to Red Sox beat writer Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
âThe labs came in Friday,â Cotillo â who described Abreu as “noticeably slimmer” â quoted Red Sox manager Alex Cora as saying. âThereâs still something there. Heâll get another lab on Monday and weâll see where weâre at. Until we get the clearance from the doctors, weâll stay away from him.â
Bello, Crawford Stalled in Recovery Process
The Red Sox also faced bad news on the pitching front. At the outset of spring training camp last week, Cora announced that right-handed starting pitchers Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello were both still dealing with nagging injuries. In Crawford’s case, the malady was soreness in the patellar tendon of his right knee that dated from late last season, though the 28-year-old pitched through the injury anyway.
Bello showed up to camp complaining of soreness in his pitching shoulder. According to Cora on Saturday, neither pitcher has made progress in recovering from the injuries.
The 25-year-old Dominican is “not even throwing bullpens,” Cora told reporters on Saturday, according to Cotillo, who added that Cora did not rule out the possibility that Bello could be ready by Opening Day. “Weâll see how it goes next week,” the manager said.
Crawford, however, was a different story.
“With Kutter, thatâs the one it looks like is going to be long,” Cotillo quoted Cora as saying. “Opening Day, right now, is an ‘if.’ Letâs see what happens.”
Rookie Lefty Shut Down But Avoids the Knife
The last injury â at least the Red Sox hope it’s the last one â involved 27-year-old rookie left-handed reliever Zach Penrod, who debuted in 2024, allowing just one run in four innings over seven appearances. Cora said that Penrod will be “out for a while” with “elbow inflammation.”
In what could be seen as tiny bit of good news, however, Cora said that imaging results on Penrod’s pitching elbow showed no ligament damage, meaning that the lefty avoids surgery that could cost him an entire season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Red Sox Get Series of Bad News Updates on Outfielder, 3 Pitchers as Games Begin appeared first on Heavy Sports.