In a season that will be defined by impactful performances from unlikely sources, Mickey Gasper’s rise was the most unbelievable of all.
Yet Gasper’s story will not have a postseason, after he suffered a peculiar injury in the Red Sox’ third-to-last game of the season.
In the bottom of the fifth inning on Friday afternoon, Gasper swung and missed on a curveball, immediately flexing and grabbing at his right arm on his way to the dugout. He was replaced by Connor Wong, and between games, reports indicated that Gasper’s injury was serious.
After the nightcap, manager Chad Tracy confirmed that the injury does appear to be one that will make Gasper unavailable for the postseason.
“At this point, it just looks like a significant biceps injury. So, he’s gonna still be seeing more doctors and stuff like that. We’ll get a final conclusion, but it’s a pretty significant biceps injury,” Tracy said. “It’s probably gonna take him out.”
The 30-year-old Gasper had cooled off since his historic month of August but still figured to be a useful lefty bat for Tracy when the Red Sox take on the Yankees next week for a best-of-three series, beginning on Tuesday. Gasper was catching in Friday’s matinee, which would have given Tracy more flexibility in various situations.
Gasper batted .251 with an .823 OPS in 67 games with the Red Sox this season, doing most of his damage in the month of August. That month, he batted .400 with a 1.671 OPS, belting nine extra-base hits in 30 at-bats.
Combined with Willson Contreras declaring himself unlikely to be able to play when the playoffs begin, the Red Sox’ lineup has now taken serious hits on consecutive days.
The Yankees are dealing with some injuries, too, though Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham are all working toward being able to return for the postseason.
