The Red Sox have had their share of injury problems at the big league level this season, and those problems extended to the minor league level on Monday night.
The organization was given a scare when outfield prospect Jackie Bradley Jr. suffered an ankle injury and limped off the field while playing for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. He suffered the ankle injury in the first inning of the Sea Dogs’ game with the New Britain Rock Cats, when he slipped running the bases.
The injury, at least according to his manager, isn’t expected to be a huge deal.
“He just slipped,” Portland manager Kevin Boles said, according to The Portland Press Herald. “He’s going to be fine. It just caught him off guard. The track was definitely pretty wet.”
According to the paper, Bradley Jr. slipped after stopping hard on the basepaths in between second and third. He was able to retreat to second base, but he got up slowly.
Boles delivered more good news.
“He was able to put weight on it,” Boles said. “We’ll check him out tomorrow to see how he is but he should be back sooner than later.”
MILB.com reports that Bradley’s injury led to a 22-minute delay, as the ground crew came on to do repairs on the infield.
Bradley was promoted to Portland in late June after tearing it up at High-A Salem. Between the two clubs, he’s hitting .316 with nine home runs and 62 RBIs. The 2011 first-round pick is hitting .276 since being called up to Portland.
Bradley entered the season as the No. 10 prospect in the Red Sox organization on Baseball America’s ranking of the club’s top prospects. SoxProspects.com has him currently ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the organization.
Thumbnail via Facebook/Jackie Bradley Jr.