Since returning to the Red Sox, Carl Crawford has been transparent about playing through pain in his elbow. But apparently, he’s also experiencing a flare-up in his surgically repaired wrist.
Despite sparking the Red Sox in Sunday’s 14-1 victory –– with three hits, three doubles and three RBIs –– Crawford was yanked in the bottom of the fifth inning for a defensive replacement because of some discomfort.
“It was a little sore today,” Crawford told reporters in Cleveland. “It is what it is. I’ve been playing with pain the whole time I’ve been back. It’s just one of those things where it’s a little more sore than other days.”
Back in January, Crawford needed surgery for his ailing left wrist. Afterward, he attempted to accelerate his recovery from the procedure during spring training, but suffered a setback during bunting drills.
To alleviate the pain, Crawford elected to get an injection in March. As a result of the progress that he’s made, the four-time All-Star indicated that he could opt for another shot in the wrist.
“It’s been five months since I had the shot, so it’s probably just time for another one,” he said. “Had the game been close, I definitely would have stayed in the game. I didn’t really think it was too much of a big deal.”
Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine agreed with the assessment. With the score at 14-1 in the fifth inning, the skipper decided not to take any risks and inserted Scott Podsednik into the game for Crawford.
“It’s very minor,” Valentine told reporters of the wrist pain. “He came out to keep it minor.”
For Crawford’s sake, he should certainly hope so.
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