The injury bug has been relentless on the Red Sox pitching staff early in the 2025 season.
Boston started the campaign without Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks due to various ailments, and the club appeared to add another arm to that list Saturday. Richard Fitts abruptly left his scoreless start against the Chicago White Sox in the sixth inning due to apparent upper-body discomfort.
Fitts on Monday underwent an MRI that revealed a mild strain of a pectoral muscle, per The Boston Globe. That’s obviously not an ideal situation for the Red Sox, but it’s far from the worst.
“It’s not as bad as what we thought,” Cora told reporters before Boston’s loss in Tampa Bay. “Obviously, timetable, we don’t know yet. But out of the bad news, this is the best possible result.”
Fitts was a pleasant early season surprise for the Red Sox, who watched the 25-year-old establish a 3.18 ERA through his first three starts. Had injury not removed him from his last outing against the South Siders, it would have marked the third straight start that Fitts went at least six innings. Ace Garrett Crochet is the only other Boston starter who has logged multiple outings of six innings or more this season.
Story continues below advertisement
The Red Sox certainly could use some promising developments with their staff, especially after Monday night’s debacle against the Rays. Walker Buehler will try to play the role of stopper Tuesday when the American League East rivals play the middle game of their series.
NESN’s full coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET.
Featured image via Patrick Gorski/Imagn Images
