News and notes from around Red Sox Nation.
Rich Hill is officially back in the clubhouse. Is that a good sign for the Red Sox? No, not really. But he’s a 44-year-old Massachusetts native who returned to big league ball after coaching little league all summer, and that’s pretty damn cool. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)
And unfortunately, the Sox do genuinely need Hill. As if the pitching situation wasn’t bad enough, both Lucas Sims and Luis Garcia have been placed on the IL. Along with James Paxton, that means that all of Craig Breslow’s trade deadline pitching acquisitions are now on the shelf. (Julian McWilliams, Boston Globe)
Of course neither Sims nor Garcia were particularly effective before going down. That’s not the case with Rafael Devers, on the other hand. The best hitter on the Red Sox is still dealing with his nagging shoulder injury and missed last night’s game. It sounds like that won’t the only game the shoulder forces him out of down the stretch. (Adam London, NESN)
For as good of a hitter as Devers has been this year, though, he hasn’t been quite as dynamic as Jarren Duran. Duran made history last night, becoming the first player to record at least 10 triples, 20 home runs, 30 stolen bases, and 40 doubles in a single season. (Gayle Troiani, NESN)
It would be nice if Marcelo Mayer joins Devers and Duran in the middle of the order one day, but he needs to stay on the field, first. In Mayer’s case, the Red Sox expected him to experience some injury issues as he builds up his body. Mayer had never lifted weights when the Sox drafted him out of high school in 2021. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)