Rafael Devers‘ season is done following Friday night’s loss to the Minnesota Twins, along with any hope that was left for the Boston Red Sox’s playoff push. Red Sox manager Alex Cora announced that Devers’ 2024 season would be done after last night’s 12-inning loss. “He’s not (okay)… he’s gonna get an MRI tomorrow… probably, this is it for him.” Cora said updating reporters on Devers’ growing shoulder pains. This shouldn’t come as a shock to fans, as Devers has dealt with a shoulder injury for the entire season. With Devers going on the 10-day injured list, the Red Sox wave the white flag, and the playoff race for Boston is officially over. Mickey Gasper was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to fill in the roster position.
Alex Cora on Rafael Devers likely being done for 2024. pic.twitter.com/Vb4M0lCydC
— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) September 21, 2024
Red Sox Wave White Flag on 2024 After Devers Injury
Depending on whether you’re a fan or not, the 2024 Red Sox season either went as expected or was a major disappointment. Going into the season, the Sox had a 28% chance of making the playoffs (per Fangraphs). According to MLB.com, they had a win projection of 81.5. From the outside looking in, the Red Sox were never supposed to make the playoffs to begin with. But, that doesn’t mean fans wouldn’t have hope. Coming off back-to-back 78-84 last-place finishes, fans believed this year would be different. Just eight games remain on the schedule for the 2024 season. The Red Sox are five games out of the last wild card position in the American League. To make things worse, they’ve been passed by three clubs for that last spot over the past week. Though there are two games to play versus the sixth-seed Twins, Boston’s odds dropped to 0.1% today.
Injury Impact
Before Devers, various other injuries derailed the Sox’s chances even if their record didn’t reflect it. The injuries for the Red Sox started before the season even began. Newly acquired starting pitcher Lucas Giolito experienced a partially torn UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) during spring training and missed the entire season. Then, the first week of the season saw Trevor Story dislocate his shoulder, causing him to miss 134 games. Not long after that, Triston Casas bruised his ribs and proceeded to miss 98 games. Garrett Whitlock suffered a damaged UCL at the end of May which ended his season. Trade deadline acquisition James Paxton tore his calf after two starts with the club ending his season, and potentially his career. Rafael Devers landing on the injured list was the last straw, and now the team can begin to prepare for 2025…