Well the Boston Red Sox got some good news and bad news about the thumb injuries suffered by Andrew Bailey and Josh Beckett.
The bad news is that Bailey will undergo surgery on Wednesday and be lost for at least three months. Some reports say he won’t return until September.
Here’s the release from the Red Sox on Bailey:
BOSTON, MA— The Boston Red Sox issued the following statement today in regards to right-handed pitcher Andrew Bailey:
“Andrew Bailey was examined yesterday by Dr. Mark Belsky and Dr. Matthew Leibman in Boston and today by Dr. Thomas Graham in Cleveland. It was determined that Andrew should undergo surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. The surgery is scheduled to be performed by Dr. Graham tomorrow in Cleveland.”
The good news is that Beckett is fine and will make his scheduled start on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers.
The Red Sox acquired Bailey along with Ryan Sweeney with the hopes that he would be their closer after Jonathan Papelbon bolted for the Philadelphia Phillies during free agency. Now they are faced with him being out for the considerable future.
Mark Melancon has closing experience from his days with the Houston Astros. Daniel Bard has closed out a few games in his career but he’s expected to stay in the Red Sox rotation. Also under consideration for closing now are Alfredo Aceves and Vicente Padilla.
This is obviously not how the Red Sox wanted to start the season but it is what is. Now they need to make the best of it.
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photo credit: AP Photo
