BOSTON — The initial outlook on Hanley Ramirez’s injury is promising despite limited details.
Ramirez, who suffered a shoulder injury Monday while crashing into the wall at Fenway Park during the first inning of the Boston Red Sox’s 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, isn’t in Tuesday’s starting lineup and still could miss time. Red Sox manager John Farrell sounded optimistic when discussing the outfielder’s injury, though, and it’s possible Boston might have dodged a bullet if things continue to check out OK.
“He’s dealing with a mild sprain to the left shoulder. He’s shown improvement in his range of motion today. He still is day to day, and we should know more in the next two or three days on his status going forward,” Farrell said before Tuesday’s game. “But I think it was encouraging that he came in today with some increased mobility. Still a little sore, obviously, but maybe a little bit better than we anticipated coming in.”
The injury sure didn’t look good, as Ramirez hit the ground in pain while grabbing his left shoulder after crashing into the wall located in foul territory along the left field line. He slowly walked off the field after being tended to by Farrell and the team’s training staff, creating a deafening silence at Fenway Park.
“Athletes are instinctive,” Farrell said. “He makes a great read and a jump on the ball. You don’t want to tell guys to play safely. That’s when you usually come up short.
“It’s an unfortunate situation that his momentum takes him as far as it did. I think more than anything we may be fortunate he didn’t hurt himself with more seriousness.”
Losing Ramirez for any period of time obviously would be a huge blow to the Red Sox, as the 31-year-old leads the team in both home runs and RBIs. Perhaps the three-time All-Star will avoid a DL stint, however, in which case Boston will breathe a sigh of relief.
“We’ve got to get full range of motion first, and that’ll probably let us know how long this will be before his return,” Farrell said. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of things yet.”
Thumbnail photo via Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports Images
