While Roman Anthony’s call-up was the big story on Monday, the other side of the coin was Wilyer Abreu, whom the Red Sox placed on the 10-day injured list with a left-oblique strain.
“Obviously not the way you want it,” manager Alex Cora said of the ‘24 Gold Glover’s injury opening the door for baseball’s No. 1 overall prospect. “Willy’s a good player, great defender, a good at-bat.”
Abreu is hitting .245 with a .792 OPS. After hitting 15 home runs in 132 games last season, he’s already hit 13 in just 64 games this year. The reigning American League Gold Glove right-fielder, he ranks in the 86th MLB percentile in Field Run Value, 92nd percentile in Outs Above Average, and 95th percentile in arm strength.
The injury happened during Sunday’s series finale at Yankee Stadium, an 11-7 Red Sox victory. Abreu wasn’t in the starting lineup, but entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh and replaced Rob Refsnyder in right-field.
“Yesterday there was a fly-ball he hit to center and I saw him running to first, and I’m like ‘There’s something going on here,’” Cora explained. “He got treatment after the game, got treatment today. We hope it’s not a while, we’ll get more details later on, but it makes sense to put him on the IL.”
While Anthony has looked ready for weeks, hitting towering home runs and grand slams on a regular basis, Cora emphasized that the roster move was “about protecting Willy.”
“This happened very fast,” the Sox skipper said. “This was about Willy… and obviously, having a complete roster, and it just happens that Roman was the guy.”
