BOSTON — The injury bug has bitten the Red Sox again, this time in the back end of the bullpen.
All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a medial meniscus tear in his left knee. He will undergo surgery Monday at Massachusetts General Hospital and is expected to miss three to six weeks.
Kimbrel suffered the injury changing directions while trying to field a ground ball in batting practice before Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-handed reliever felt some discomfort after coming off the field and underwent an MRI on Friday night that revealed the injury.
Kimbrel is the second Red Sox pitcher this year to suffer an injury during BP, as left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez dislocated his knee while shagging balls early in spring training. But the injuries to Kimbrel and Rodriguez aren’t making Red Sox manager Farrell reconsider his pitchers’ pre-game routines.
“Honestly, this is an anomaly,” Farrell said of Kimbrel’s injury. “This is what our players go through normally day in and day out, traditionally in the game. We can’t put guys in bubbles, and yet you get a little bit of a change in direction, and this is what happens.”
Kimbrel also said he won’t shy away from fielding during BP in the future.
“It’s something I’ve always done,” Kimbrel said Saturday. “It’s great conditioning. Keeps my body good and loose, keeps me athletic.
“(The injury) would have made a lot more sense if I was running down a ball in the gap instead of just standing there and taking a step for a ground ball hit right at me. It’s just frustrating.”
Fortunately for the Red Sox, help is on the way, as the team just acquired relief pitcher Brad Ziegler from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ziegler, who has 18 saves on the season, won’t be available for Saturday’s game against Tampa, but is expected to share closing duties alongside Koji Uehara in Kimbrel’s absence.
“I still have ultimate and complete confidence and trust in Koji if he remains as our primary closer,” Farrell said, “and we’re adding a guy (in Ziegler) who’s saved a high number of games over the course of his career.”
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
