The Red Sox lineup has proven durable this season, but that’s about to change.
After his team’s walkoff 4-3 loss to the Yankees on Sunday, manager John Farrell announced that leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury has a compression fracture in his right foot. He’s already in a walking boot, and if history is any guide, will miss at least a month.
Farrell believes Ellsbury will return this season, but until the swelling around his injury subsides, it will be hard to say.
“The exam that he went through, the images taken in Denver concur with what’s been found in the exam in Boston and he does have a compression fracture,” Farrell said. “That means it’s non-displaced. But at the same time, we feel like he’ll return this year. … We’re hopeful in the regular season.”
The news isn’t worst-case for the speedster, sparkplug, and superlative defender — that would be a break requiring season-ending surgery — but it’s definitely not good.
Ellsbury is the most dynamic player on the Red Sox and one of the three or four best hitters on the team. Ellsbury is batting .299 with a .355 on-base percentage along with 52 stolen bases. He also has 52 RBI and eight home runs.
Taking Ellsbury’s bat and glove out of the lineup is a tremendous blow, particularly since no player is more entrenched in the batting order than Ellsbury at leadoff. The Red Sox can ill-afford to lose David Ortiz, but they at least have options at cleanup.
Removing Ellsbury from the lineup, however, ripples through the rest of the order. Shane Victorino and Daniel Nava are the two best candidates to hit leadoff, but the former has thrived in the two-hole, where his burgeoning right-handed power is an asset, and the latter has excellent on-base ability that is offset by average base-running skills.
The Red Sox can only hope Ellsbury will indeed return before the end of the regular season. A source close to the outfielder expressed clear optimism that he’ll play before the end of the regular season, but said the issue is swelling around the break in the navicular bone. Once that subsides, the source said, Ellsbury should be able to play through whatever pain remains.
The source described the fracture as small and on the surface, and said Ellsbury should be able to play before it fully heals with no long-term effects.
MLB NOTEBOOK: Seattle ace Felix Hernandez will miss his next start on Wednesday because of back stiffness, MLB.com reported on Monday. Rookie Brandon Maurer will make the start against the Houston Astros instead. Cramping in his lower back forced Hernandez to leave his most recent outing after 6 2/3 innings on Sept. 2 in Kansas City. He was supposed to start Sunday’s game, but that was pushed back, too. While throwing on Saturday, he felt more stiffness and the Mariners decided to proceed with caution. Hernandez is 12-9 with a 3.01 ERA and 200 strikeouts. He is third in the American League in strikeouts and fourth in innings pitched. Mauer has been pitching in long relief for a good portion of the season. He did start 10 games earlier in the year and has compiled a 4-7 mark with a 6.85 ERA.