The Red Sox will place Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list tomorrow, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The veteran righty left this morning’s start with right hamstring tightness and is slated for an MRI on Tuesday. Rookie southpaw Tyler Samaniego will be recalled as the corresponding move to give Boston an extra reliever for the next few games.
Although the Sox won’t know the severity of Gray’s injury until tomorrow, they’ve expressed optimism. The pitcher and skipper Alex Cora each said they don’t believe it’s a serious injury. Gray missed time with strains of the same hamstring in 2022 and ’24. That history adds some confidence to his feel that this isn’t a major issue but also incentivizes the Sox to be cautious. He’ll be eligible to return on May 6.
Gray’s first season in Boston has been a mixed bag. He owns a 4.30 earned run average with a much diminished 13% strikeout rate over 23 innings. Gray struggled in his team debut against Cincinnati, rebounded with consecutive quality starts against San Diego and Milwaukee, then was knocked around for five runs over four innings in Minnesota last week. He had allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings in today’s start.
The early exit forced the Sox to lean heavily on their bullpen. They used seven relievers to hang onto an eventual 8-6 win over Detroit. Long man Jack Anderson, who threw three innings and 41 pitches yesterday, was the only reliever who didn’t get into today’s game. Boston has divisional series against the Yankees, Orioles and Blue Jays before their next off day on April 30. Samaniego hasn’t pitched since Friday, so he should be available for a couple innings tomorrow. He was just optioned back to Triple-A last week but can be recalled to replace an injured pitcher.
Boston’s schedule will require them to turn to a fifth starter this weekend unless they want to run a bullpen game. Top prospect Payton Tolle seems the logical candidate after making a late-season debut in 2025. The big lefty has recorded 19 strikeouts while allowing eight runs (five earned) through 15 Triple-A frames this year.
Tolle hasn’t pitched since April 12. Cotillo notes that the Sox scratched Tolle from his Triple-A start over the weekend in case he was needed at the MLB level with uncertainty about potential weather postponements and doubleheaders. Connelly Early, Ranger Suárez and Brayan Bello are lined up for the series against the Yankees. Boston hasn’t announced a probable starter for Friday’s opener with Baltimore, but Garrett Crochet would be on regular rest for that outing. Gray’s next turn would have come on Saturday.
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