Manager Alex Cora announced yesterday that Red Sox utility man Romy Gonzalez is currently shut down from all baseball activities except for playing catch. This announcement came after earlier reports that he initially injured his shoulder in the final series of the 2025 regular season and has been dealing with pain and discomfort all offseason. Gonzalez has received a PRP injection and has not technically yet been ruled out for Opening Day, but the fact that he has now been dealing with an injury for over four months seems, uhh, really, really bad to me.
One year ago, it wouldn’t have been a very big deal if the Red Sox announced that Romy Gonzalez was injured. But he broke out last year, particularly against southpaws. Against lefties in 2025, Romy led the team in homers, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+. And by the way, the players who were second, third, and fourth on the team in OPS against lefties were Rob Refsnyder, Rafael Devers, and Alex Bregman. The team’s entire offense against left-handed pitching is either gone or injured, with only Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin to replace them.
Romy’s injury puts even more pressure on Roman Anthony, who was fifth on the team in OPS against lefties in 2025. Considering that he wasn’t even in the big leagues for the first few months of the season last year, Anthony’s swift rise to offensive cornerstone and face of the franchise is rather stunning. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
Outfielder/“fastest DH in the league” Jarren Duran was asked about his performance against lefties, saying “I did pretty good against lefties in ’24, right? So, ’25 they adjusted, so in ’26 I can adjust to them.” For the record, in 2024 Duran put up an OPS of .665 against lefties. (Tim Healey, Boston Globe)
Someone who has performed well against lefties is Triston Casas, the slugger who posted an OPS of .817 against them in 2023. But 2023 was his only full season in the majors, as he is struggling to show he can stay on the field. Casas is not yet participating in full team activities and is expected to be out until at least May, but he’s okay taking his time: “This was a major injury and I’m a great player, and I don’t find any reason to rush this process. And whenever I feel ready to come back is when I am going to contribute best.” (Ian Browne, MLB.com)
The injury to Romy and the lengthy recovery for Triston Casas is also a major hit to the team’s first base depth. That’s why Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has played every single position expect for first base in his big league career, is now working out there. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)
With so many question marks in the lineup, the 2026 Red Sox are going to need to be carried by their excellent (on paper) starting rotation. Sonny Gray is expected to be a big part of that, but right now it’s his 11-year-old son who is going viral on social media. (Chris Cotillo, MassLive)
Newcomer Johan Oviedo has not yet locked in a rotation spot alongside Gray, but Alex Cora likes what he sees out of him so far: “He’s physical. Good stuff. I don’t want to say he’s a work in progress but there’s a lot of things that we can help him accomplish and have the total package.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)