Just a day after losing to their most bitter rival 16-1, the Boston Red Sox lost All-Star first baseman Willson Contreras to a hamstring strain. Contreras landed on the 10-day IL with his injury on Monday, being replaced by Mickey Gasper from Triple-A. According to Red Sox manager Chad Tracy, Contreras' hamstring had bothered him for about a month and flared up in their heavy loss.
The Red Sox didn't reveal how much time the All-Star would miss. Contreras arrived in Boston during the offseason from the St. Louis Cardinals, instantly taking over as their starting first baseman.
Through 125 games this year, he has a career-high .900 OPS with 26 homers — also a career high — and 79 RBIs, which is one shy of the career-high 80 he had last season. The veteran's injury comes at an inconvenient time for the Red Sox as the postseason rapidly closes in, giving Contreras just a few weeks to get back up to speed. The Red Sox are likely to make it to October, as they are five games clear of the Cleveland Guardians in the second Wild Card spot.
The Red Sox won't overthink anything with Contreras out, and are immediately slotting Gasper into the starting lineup as the first baseman on Monday. Nearly all of Gasper's innings this season have come from behind the plate, logging 101 innings and Boston's backstop, but he has also played 17 frames at first base, and appears to be the de facto replacement. If Gasper doesn't work out, though the Red Sox have other options.
Utility infielders Nick Sogard and Andruw Monasterio can both play first to lessen the load on Gasper if the coaching staff sees fit. The Red Sox will hope to stay afloat during Contreras' absence, and will hope he returns to the team sooner rather than later. Their first challenge without him comes on Monday against the Seattle Mariners in the first game of a three-game set at home.
First pitch for the first game of the series comes at 6:45 p.m.
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