Despite the usual "Pollyanna" spin by the Red Sox medical staff, there are already rumblings that
Blake Swihart may be gone for the year. While the party line from Yawkey Way is that he needs to be 'immobilized' for two weeks, both reports and neutral physicians are taking quite a different view.
WEEI.com's Jon Tomase tweeted that
the team's initial thoughts were that Swihart was done for the season, but they shifted to the "wait and see for two weeks" route instead. Some medical professionals have weighed in that—at a minimum—the immobilization should be
4-6 weeks, not 2 weeks. Given the track record of the Red Sox medical staff, the
ultimate result could be anything from 14 days to the end of Spring Training 2017. This injury is devastating on two fronts:
first, Swihart was performing fairly well in his new LF spot;
second, he was widely rumored to be a central "chip" in any trade for a starting pitcher. Stay tuned!
