The Boston Red Sox are off on Monday after losing three out of four games against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium to fall back to .500 on the season.
With 12 games left in their regular season, Boston is 4.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League, and the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners are ahead of them in the Wild Card race. And, with that information, the Red Sox may end up shutting down a veteran outfielder for the rest of the season.
Rob Refnysder has had one of the best seasons of his professional career this year, hitting .284 with an .833 OPS, a career-high 11 home runs, 40 RBIs and two stolen bases. However, the 33-year-old has been dealing with a wrist injury recently that kept him from batting at all in New York.
On Sunday, Cora hinted that a decision on Refsnyder's short-term future could be coming soon.
"(He's) sore still," Cora said (via. Chris Cotillo). "We’ll stay away from him. I don’t know who we’re facing in Tampa but if it gets to the point that he can’t face a lefty there, then probably (IL)."
Refsnyder has been a lefty-killer in his career, hitting .278 with an .800 OPS and 15 home runs against them in 317 games. In 2024, he's been even better, hitting .304 with a .948 OPS, eight home runs and 23 RBIs.
Shutting him down would give him a chance to rest up and make sure he's ready for next season.
While he's hinted at retirement and an eventual transition to coaching/managing, Boston has a club option on Refsnyder's contract for the 2025 season worth just $2 million. And, with the outfield potentially being filled with three left-handed hitters, Refsnyder could be the perfect fourth outfielder for the team.
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