Red Sox’s evasiveness on Mookie Betts’ injury is getting worrisome
By David Rouben
Mookie Betts has hit the 10-day disabled list, while the Boston Red Sox medical staff have been notably quiet over details of the star player’s injury.
The Boston Red Sox have the best record in the league, but you couldn’t tell based on what has happened in the past week.
During their three-game sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays, there was a notable person missing all throughout from the lineup. Mookie Betts was battling a left abdominal strain, but the team promised that he’d be back by the start of their series against the Houston Astros.
The Astros series starts, and Betts is a late scratch, but perhaps they’re just playing it safe and making sure he’s 100 percent. No big deal, he should be back next game, right?
Not only did they drop the series opener, they announced right before first pitch that Betts has been placed on the 10-day DL with a corresponding move yet to be made:
Prior to tonight’s game, RF Mookie Betts was placed on the 10-day DL (retro to 5/29) with a left abdominal strain. A corresponding move to replace Betts on the roster will be made prior to tomorrow’s game (6/2) in HOU. #RedSox
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 1, 2018
The news couldn’t have come at a worse time, as they had just got done releasing Hanley Ramirez after failing to find a trade partner for him. While fans knew it was coming, since he got DFA’d last Friday, that doesn’t make the situation any better.
But the Red Sox cutting ties with Ramirez, in addition to not keeping fans in the loop about a severe injury to a star player, has led to a perfect storm of events that have put the club in a tenuous position.
Their handling of Betts’ injury can only be a bad thing for the two sides moving forward. They can’t afford to distance themselves as they face salary arbitration in the offseason. And we’ve seen how a lack of transparency when dealing with these matters has sunk teams like the New York Mets.
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Even though the Red Sox have the proper depth to make up for Betts’ loss, he is the engine that drives the team’s engine. He has hit 17 home runs, slashed .359/.437/.750 and has a WAR of 4.1. He’s a versatile superstar that was threatening to close the gap on Mike Trout for the title of world’s best player. By the time he comes back, though, who knows if he’ll be even 70 percent of the player he was at the start of the season?