Things were trending upward for Andrew Benintendi.
The Boston Red Sox outfielder started this season off cold at the plate batting just 2-for-36 through the first 13 games. But he appeared to have a breakthrough in Tuesday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Benintendi went 2-for-3 and was hit by a pitch to get on base three times for Boston, but that’s where the trouble came, as he strained his rib cage falling between the base paths.
The team placed him on the 10-day injured list, but manager Ron Roenicke insinuated the team expects him to be out longer. And for Benintendi, the timing of it all — to say the least — is less than ideal.
“I feel fine,” Benintendi told reporters during a Zoom press conference prior to Boston’s fourth and final game of the series against Tampa Bay. “Just frustrated overall that this happened. So I think frustrated would be the right word.
Benintendi said he landed pretty hard and felt discomfort, and upon having the medical staff take a deeper look after Tuesday’s game, they shut him down for the near future.
“I feel like mentally, this whole time, I have been in a good spot,” Benintendi said. “Obviously, it would be easy to not be. I do come to the park every day excited to hopefully bust out of this thing, this little slump I’m in. Mentally, I feel strong. It sucks that this happens but there’s nothing I can do now but get better quickly.”
Unfortunately, getting better means not being around his teammates due to Major League Baseball’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols. When the Red Sox are home he can’t come in for treatment and when they’re on the road he can’t travel with them.
“It stinks,” Benintendi said. “I want to be with the guys and around the team but obviously this is a different scenario. Not much I can do.”
