BOSTON – Injuries have become an all-too-recurring theme for the Red Sox in September, and another one cropped up on Friday when the surging Mickey Gasper injured his right biceps while striking out in the fifth inning of the 4-3 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of a split doubleheader at Fenway Park.
For weeks, there has been a debate if Gasper’s recent power tear would land him a starting spot against righties in the postseason.
There’s a chance it could become a moot point, as Gasper underwent an MRI between games of the twin bill.
When Gasper struck out on a sweeper by Clay Holmes, he immediately started flexing his right arm.
“Some biceps discomfort on that swing,” said Red Sox manager Chad Tracy. “So I think he's going over to get an MRI now and he’s got some pretty good discomfort. So I don't know exactly what it is, but he struck out on that last swing and has discomfort in his bicep.”
Ten of Gasper’s 12 career homers have come in his last 33 games, starting on Aug. 17. He has a 1.082 OPS over that span, covering 106 plate appearances.
It has been a heartwarming rise for the 30-year-old Gasper, a journeyman who spent part of eight seasons in the Minor Leagues.
Creating additional concern for the Red Sox is that Willson Contreras is still not certain to be back for the postseason due to a right hand injury sustained on Sept. 24.
Gasper, who can also catch, would be an option to replace Contreras if he isn’t ready. But now, Gasper might not be ready either.
“Any time there's an injury and you got stuff going on, it creates uncertainty,” said Tracy. “Obviously we're pushing, and our hope is we get [Contreras] in there, but that creates uncertainty for sure. But as we've done most of the year, whatever actually ends up being the case with all of that, we plan to go play [good] baseball because that's what we’ve been doing all year.”