Red Sox’ Caleb Durbin plans to stay off IL after pinkie was ‘facing a direction it shouldn’t’
DENVER — Caleb Durbin partially dislocated his left pinkie finger Wednesday when he slid head-first into first base — a fundamentally unsound move that he described as “being a dummy in the heat of the moment.”
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He plans to stay off the injured list, however, after X-rays were negative.
The finger initially was “kind of facing a direction it shouldn’t,” interim manager Chad Tracy said.
“Looked worse initially than what the results came back [as], which is obviously a big win,” said Durbin, who doesn’t anticipate needing further tests. “Just a little stiffness, which isn’t obviously a big deal at all. So the frustration is just having to come out [of the game].”
In the top of the third in an eventual 8-6 loss to the Rockies, Durbin sent a chopper to first baseman TJ Rumfield. Rumfield flipped to pitcher Kyle Freeland, who was covering the bag on a bang-bang play.
Desperate to beat it out — since a single would have meant another run — Durbin dove into the bag, which is generally regarded as a bad idea because it is unsafe in addition to not any faster than simply running through the bag.
“I’ve done it a million times before, and I’ve seen way worse injuries from it. Probably won’t do it again anytime soon,” Durbin said. “You hear all the time that it’s slower to dive in, but instincts take over, and obviously regret it, but again, very happy that the outcome isn’t as bad as it could have been.”
Shaken up as the inning ended, Durbin didn’t stay on the field to play third base. There was “a little bit of panic there” because he had never seen his finger look that way.
Pain — and concern — soon abated. The official diagnosis, as phrased by the Sox: a left fifth finger subluxation.
“They were able to pop it back in,” Tracy said.
Durbin said: “What the doctor was doing to it, the way he was pressing on it, not a whole lot of pain, really, even. So the big thing was just putting it back into place and making sure there’s no bone damage.”
Durbin’s exit proved game-changing. Marcelo Mayer, who had been out of the lineup because of a sore left foot, entered to play shortstop. Andruw Monasterio moved from short to second base, and Anthony Seigler fromsecond to third.
Seigler committed a throwing error on the first play of the next half-inning, helping set up a Rockies run. Mayer’s fielding error in the seventh helped Colorado rally for a tie.
“The frustration is just having to come out and putting the guys in a tough position,” Durbin said. “That’s the big frustration part of it, but physically, not not bad at all.”
On deck: Yankees
The Yankees’ final Fenway Park visit of the season is a four-game series beginning Thursday.
The Red Sox will keep their rotation order and feature three rookie lefthanders: Connelly Early on Thursday, Payton Tolle on Friday, Jake Bennett on Saturday. Sonny Gray will get the finale Sunday night.
The Yankees, meanwhile, are lined up to throw Walpole native Cam Schlittler in the opener, followed by Will Warren, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Rodón.
Anthony update
In the week that the Red Sox were away,Roman Anthony didn’t make substantive progress with his sprained right wrist/hand, Tracy said.
Occasionally, the outfielder takes a dry swing with a lighter-than-normal bat to test the injury. But he has not picked up “a real bat,” per Tracy.
“It’s improving. I can give you that. Nothing more than that, really,” Tracy said. “He’s starting to feel much better about it. If his mentals are getting better, that’s good.”
Trade talk
Any team that acquires Gray would be responsible for the remaining portion of his $31 million salary — a tick less than $16 million at this point — plus his 2027 obligations, which is either a $10 million buyout or a $30 million team option. The Sox and interested clubs are free, of course, to negotiate whatever amount of cash in a trade.
The $20 million they received from the Cardinals when they got Gray last offseason does not carry over in a potential next deal.
Duran benched
Left fielder Jarren Duran was on the bench Wednesday in favor of Nate Eaton, who had had a big game Tuesday. Amid a brutal stretch — 1 for his last 26 with 11 strikeouts — Duran’s average has sunk back to .199. “Just needed to give him a break,” Tracy said … For the first time in his rehab assignment, lefthander Patrick Sandoval will pitch on four days’ rest when he takes the mound for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday. He will have the same targets as he did Tuesday: three or four innings and about 55 pitches. “We always get to that four-inning mark, and it’s always a repeat,” Tracy said. “We’ve done that for years” … Tracy on infielder Romy Gonzalez’s desire to be activated from the injured list Saturday: “I love hearing Romy’s urgency to get back to the team.” The Sox have not committed to a day.
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