Willson Contreras was hit in the hand by a pitch in the series finale against the Texas Rangers and has not been in the lineup since.
Initial imaging did not show a fracture, but the injury has limited Contreras' ability to swing a bat. With the regular season running out, Contreras is in a race against the clock to return to the lineup. It's hard to imagine the Red Sox making a deep run in October without him.
"Willson Contreras has more range of motion when he squeezes his hand today than he did yesterday," reported MLB.com's Ian Browne. "It remains a day-to-day monitoring for improvement. He is fairly confident it isn't fractured. He will do everything he can to play through this once symptoms allow."
Getting Contreras back in the lineup before the regular season ends would be huge for the Red Sox. They won't have a bye, so there won't be much real time off for him to heal without missing games. He has been hit by more pitches this year than in any year of his career, but overall, he is no stranger to being hit by pitches.
It may net him a base, but it certainly comes with a price. Hopefully it does not cost him the postseason. The Red Sox's first opponent in the postseason will most likely be the New York Yankees.
