BALTIMORE -- Injuries continue to pop up for the Red Sox as they head down the stretch.
The latest? Invaluable center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela is dealing with soreness and tightness in his right quad that left him out of the lineup for Thursday’s opener of a four-game series against the Orioles at Camden Yards.
Interim manager Chad Tracy said the club will monitor Rafaela’s symptoms daily before reinserting him into the lineup.
“He's still sore, so still some tightness and soreness in there,” Tracy said. “So obviously, he’s off, and then we'll essentially be day to day. He's going to get treatment like crazy, and we'll be day to day to see how he feels and how he's progressing.”
Is it premature to think Rafaela will just miss a day or two?
“Very premature to say,” Tracy said. “It's hard to say at this point. I think that'll maybe become more clear over the next couple of days. I expected him to be sore today and tight, so we’ll get a better idea over the next couple of days of how much improvement you're seeing, and that'll be easier to answer. But right now, we’re not going to put them out there until we see good improvement.”
Rafaela, who is second in games played (135) on the Red Sox, exited Wednesday’s contest when the discomfort first popped up.
Tracy wasn’t sure if it happened on a specific play, or if it was just the accumulation of Rafaela racing around center field all season in pursuit of his second consecutive Gold Glove Award.
The past few days have provided a lot of twists and turns for the Red Sox injury-wise, who welcomed Roman Anthony and Trevor Story back on Sunday after a three-month absence, only to move cleanup man Willson Contreras to the 10-day IL the next day with a left hamstring strain. Key reliever Tyron Guerrero was placed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with right shoulder fatigue.
Though Rafaela was out, catcher Adley Rutschman returned to the lineup on Thursday night after missing the last three games with a hyperextended right elbow. Rutschman homered in his first at-bat to mark his first game at Camden Yards since he was traded by Baltimore exactly one month ago.
In place of Rafaela, Tracy went with Eli White in center. In the past, the Sox have sometimes moved Jarren Duran from left to center when Rafaela had a day off.
Tracy left open the possibility of Duran getting some time in center, depending on how much longer Rafaela is out. In that case, Anthony, who has mainly DH’d since his return, could play left.
“Don't love it, but we will [if need be],” Tracy said. “I just think Eli's taking good at-bats. He's a really good defender. But I wouldn't rule it out on a given day; if you feel like the matchups are right, that Jarren goes to center and Roman plays left, and you do something a little different. But today, it's Eli.”