Red Sox news: Willson Contreras injury update is a bad sign for playoff return

September 25, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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Willson Contreras did not suffer a fracture in his right hand, but he sure felt like he did. A week after after getting hit in the hand by a pitch, the Boston Red Sox slugger is still in considerable pain when he tries to swing the bat. The fan base’s stress level was already high, but genuine panic may start to set in now that Contreras is expressing doubt about returning for the playoffs.

“My hand hurts,” the four-time All-Star said after Boston’s 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “I mean when it hurts, it hurts. Especially when it’s the top hand. If it was a bottom hand, I could swing with the right hand, but when it’s the right hand, my right hand just feels weaker until I just let the bat go. It’s not a good sign.

“Again, I’m doing everything that I can to come back and play with the boys and be there with the boys, but sometimes you have to listen to your body. And I’m listening to the trainers. I’m doing everything that they ask me to do.”

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Can the Red Sox survive without their trusted lefty?

Contreras is adamant about not taking a roster spot if he is unable to compete at an acceptable standard. The scuffling Red Sox desperately need their starting first baseman to rapidly recover, because their lineup is stagnating at the end of the regular season.

Boston has scored just nine runs in its last six games, which came against the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians. When the team does string together hits like the 12 it accumulated in Wednesday’s 1-0 win versus Cleveland, it is struggling to send runners home. Every ballclub endures a certain degree of adversity when it loses its best hitter, but the Sox’s offense is suffering sans Willson Contreras.

The 34-year-old Venezuelan leads Boston with a .905 OPS, .387 on-base percentage, .518 slugging percentage, 27 home runs and 81 RBIs. He also boasts a highly respectable .276 batting average through 533 plate appearances. Even after slumping in August, Contreras still has the best offensive numbers on the squad. Although the Red Sox have already secured a place in the Wild Card round, they better figure out how to manufacture runs without No. 40.

Boston is currently positioned to visit the New York Yankees, MLB’s leader in ERA by a decisive margin. Small-ball lifted Chad Tracy’s club to a historic 32-5 stretch, but fundamental soundness is only so effective when there is not sufficient star power to accompany it. This group possessed tremendous balance in the summer. That is sorely lacking in the beginning of fall.

Contreras has embraced a leadership role during what has been a career campaign for him. He wants to represent this city in the playoffs, but the clock is ticking.

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