ST. PETERSBURG – Two days after Willson Contreras was hit on the knuckle between his right ring finger and pinkie, the invaluable first baseman was at least able to report some progress.
“My hand is still really sore,” Contreras said prior to Saturday’s game against the Rays. “Today, I woke up feeling a little better. I can squeeze a little better than yesterday, but it's gonna take days [to play]. Hopefully, with the right treatment ... I know the trainers are going to do everything in their power to put me back in play. Hopefully my hand recovers quicker than what we expect.”
The one thing Contreras is confident in is that he doesn’t have a fracture. While the initial X-ray from Globe Life Field taken during Thursday’s win over the Rangers was negative, there’s always a chance that follow-up scans will show a break once the inflammation goes down.
That’s what happened to Curtis Mead two months ago, as he suffered a broken left wrist in his second at-bat with the Red Sox.
Contreras is not a doctor, but he has experience with hand fractures.
“I’ve had fractures before. And when I had fractures, I couldn't squeeze basically,” said Contreras. “I had a fracture in my right hand in 2024 when I got hit by a pitch and I couldn't squeeze at all. I’m not concerned about having a fracture, even if I have one, it’s gonna be like a little micro [fracture] and it's gonna be day to day. But no, I don't think I have any fracture in my hand.”
At this point, it’s all a matter of daily grip strength and comfort in holding the bat.
“When I got here [Friday], the first thing I did was grab a bat, and I couldn’t handle it because it's the top hand,” he said. “The top hand is really hard. We're gonna wait and see how I feel tomorrow to grip a bat. If I feel good, I can probably head to the cages and give it a try.
“My main concern is, when I make contact with the ball, how sore it’s going to be and how I'm gonna wake up the next day. But like I said, I'm gonna take it day to day. Of course, I’m dying to go out and play with the guys and be there for them. I think it's everything, part of baseball. I take one day at a time and do everything in my power to get back on the field.”
Speaking of power, Contreras leads the Red Sox with 27 homers, so his bat is one that could really impact the team’s chances in the playoffs.
There are another 10 days until the Sox open an AL Wild Card Series, which is all but certain to be at Yankee Stadium. Does Contreras take comfort in the fact he at least has a little time on his side?
“Yeah, but you don't want to get to the playoffs without having any games [right before that], because playoffs are tough, and we are going to face a good pitching staff,” said Contreras. “And you want to have your timing at least in a good spot. I'm gonna do everything in my power to get back on the field before the playoffs. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't happen, we'll see what happens in the playoffs.”
Contreras is also an important player defensively for the Red Sox, and the injury is to his throwing hand.
“I'm not sure [when ] I might be able to throw because it is my right hand, and the ball hit me not on top, but hit me right on the knuckle,” Contreras said. “So when I got hit, I felt my hand going numb, and I thought it was bad because [that can be] a sign of a fracture. That's why I came out of the game, and it was tingling for like five minutes. But then we got the scan and it didn’t show any fracture, so that’s a good sign.”
After this weekend series at Tropicana Field concludes, the Sox have an off-day, then host the Guardians from Tuesday to Thursday and the Cubs from Friday to Sunday, giving Contreras a window of six games to return.