Isiah Kiner-Falefa heads to injured list as Red Sox lose a hot bat

SEATTLE — Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s hot streak is over, and not because he stopped hitting.

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The Red Sox put him on the 10-day injured list Saturday with left forearm inflammation. They have not ruled out, however, a more serious issue such as a broken bone.

Kiner-Falefa is due to receive more tests, including a CT scan, when the team is back in Boston on Thursday in search of a better understanding, interim manager Chad Tracy said.

“There’s some things with that, like on the bone, where you got to … get a more clear picture,” Tracy said. “At this point [they don’t believe there is a fracture], but that’s what the CT scan will be for. When you get into fine stuff like that, having a scan to actually get a very clear picture is going to give us a lot more indication as to what exactly that is.”

The concern stems from a forearm problem that has bothered Kiner-Falefa all month — and gotten progressively worse. It went from “nagging” initially to “really sharp” over the past week, Kiner-Falefa said.

That triggered his removal from the lineup Friday and an MRI on Saturday. Tracy had hoped to have him back in the lineup against the Mariners, but the Sox wound up officially sidelining him instead.

“Whatever the doctor saw, he said it wasn’t a good idea to keep going,” Kiner-Falefa said. “It sucks, definitely sucks, but maybe it’s preventing something way bigger.”

The pain had become so bad during the last homestand — against the Rangers and Blue Jays, a pair of Kiner-Falefa’s former teams — that he did not swing a bat at all during pregame work.

“My first swings were in the game, because I couldn’t even swing on deck,” he said. “The adrenaline Fenway gave me [in those games] gave me an opportunity to get out there and feel OK.”

The result: at least one hit in each of six games and a .333/.391/.476 slash line.

“I was hitting real well, so I didn’t want to [not be in the lineup], and I think that was like the biggest thing for me to keep going. My last swing is a homer,” Kiner-Falefa said. “You don’t want to stop playing, but it got to that point where — I’m not too sure, but it could get way worse.”

The Red Sox called up Anthony Seigler from Triple-A Worcester to fill his roster spot. Tracy said he intends to fill the hole at second base by platooning the lefthanded-hitting Seigler and the righthanded-hitting Andruw Monasterio.

It’s bad timing for the Sox, who have been desperate for offense and had enjoyed Kiner-Falefa’s contact-plus-some-power production.

Over the past month, playing through pain most of the time, he had hit .312 with a .384 on-base percentage and .429 slugging rate.

“They’re protecting me if anything, so it is what it is,” Kiner-Falefa said. “It’s June. Not swinging before games and having all that sharpness throughout the day, probably not a good idea at this point in the year. If this is October, it’s a little different.”

Romy Gonzalez has suffered at least a slight setback in his return from left shoulder surgery.

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He exited Double-A Portland’s game Friday early because of left hip tightness, maybe the result of getting hit by a pitch there earlier in the week, Tracy said.

On Saturday, Gonzalez headed back to Boston to be examined by Red Sox medical personnel, pushing pause on his rehabilitation assignment — and pushing back a season debut that had felt imminent.

The Sox will have Gonzalez rest and get treatment through Monday before potentially resuming his rehab assignment Tuesday, according to Tracy.

“Things look pretty good so far,” Tracy said. “Optimism right now, but we gotta see how he feels through the weekend before we can figure that out.”

Before this development, Gonzalez had played in three games for Portland, one each at second base, DH, and first base. He was 1 for 7 (with a home run).

One infield aspect going well for the Red Sox: Caleb Durbin is enjoying a bona fide power surge.

Through 59 games this year, Durbin had hit one home run — and that came off a position player who had taken the mound.

Over his past seven games entering Saturday, he had four long balls (all off pitchers).

“Early in the year, [he was not] able to get off the ground as much as I wanted to — not nearly as much as I wanted to,” Durbin said. “And now it’s in the air more times than not. So I think that helps a lot with slugging.”

Since being benched in back-to-back games in late May, Durbin has woken up at the plate, posting a .292/.304/.600 slash line in 18 games. His .904 OPS in that stretch is good for seventh among third basemen.

For a Sox lineup desperate for offense from its non-Willson Contreras infielders, it is welcomed production.

“There was a little blip there for a few days, but really, for the better part of about three weeks now, he’s been really swinging the bat a lot better and hitting the ball with authority,” Tracy said. “So that helps us lengthen the lineup for sure.”

Who’s at second?

Franklin Arias, the Red Sox’ top-ranked prospect, played second base for Portland for the first time this season on Saturday.

Although the shortstop had dabbled there in years past — five games in 2025, 21 in 2024 — his work at the secondary position had been limited to practice of late. The Sox mixed him in at second with an eye on him potentially playing there in the Futures Games next month.

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