Brock Holt might be suffering from more than just sickness.
Holt, who has missed six consecutive games, was sent to Pittsburgh on Thursday to see a concussion specialist, Dr. Michael Collins, according to Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell. The move was precautionary, but Holt has been battling symptoms — nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness — in line with a concussion since him and his wife recently battled an illness.
“Guys get to the point in their career they know they’re not going to be 100 percent most days, and particularly this point in the year,” Farrell said. “But when the symptoms came up as they did — the nausea, the lightheadedness — and then when the symptoms didn’t subside when the illness went away, then we have to take every step necessary.”
It’s unclear when Holt suffered the concussion — if that’s what he’s dealing with — but the utility man collided with Dustin Pedroia during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in late August. Holt said after the game he felt “a little cuckoo,” though everything checked out OK.
“He didn’t complain of anything in the moment,” Farrell said. “The tests that are conducted on everyone after some impact was negative, (he) played regularly from that point on.”
Holt will be checked out as the Red Sox play four games in Kansas City. If he’s cleared, he’ll join the team during its three-game series in Pittsburgh, which begins Tuesday.
Holt figured to play second base with Pedroia out for the season after undergoing left thumb/wrist surgery Thursday. Instead, the Red Sox will turn to Mookie Betts, who has been learning the outfield this season after being drafted as a second baseman in 2011.
