Red Sox already dealing with significant injury

The Red Sox have yet to even take the field for their first Spring Training game, but manager Alex Cora is already operating without a lineup regular, with infielder Romy Gonzalez officially shut down from baseball activities.

“No baseball activities, can only play catch, so we’ll take it day by day," Cora said Monday when asked for an update on Gonzalez.

Cora's latest update on Gonzalez comes on the heels of an offseason where the 29-year-old was limited by a nagging shoulder injury that ultimately required a PRP injection late into his offseason program and just before Spring Training.

And though being completely shut down from baseball activities is never a good thing, especially this early in a season, Cora did seem to open the door to this simply being part of the post-injection recovery process.

“I think the injection takes time, [but] it’s been a tough offseason for him, as far as his shoulder," Cora said. "I know he’s frustrated. I don’t want to say disappointed because injuries are part of it and he’s dealt with this throughout his career. But to not be able out there with the team, I know that hurts him.” 

It also hurts the Red Sox considering that Gonzalez is coming off a 2025 campaign that saw him post career-highs across the board. 

In 96 games for Boston last season, Gonzalez set single-season highs in home runs (nine), RBIs (53), doubles (23), average (.305), and OPS (.826). And Gonzalez, known mostly for his work against lefty pitching, even displayed some clear improvement against righties, with a .286 average and 16 extra-base hits (including two home runs) in 185 at-bats against righty pitching in 2025.

One of the more versatile options on the roster, Gonzalez was expected to shoulder a bulk of the work at second base this season in addition to first base.

With Gonzalez on the shelf, the Red Sox will fully lean on Willson Contreras as their primary first baseman while also hoping for some continued progression from Triston Casas as he works his way back from a major knee injury. According to Cora, Connor Wong and Nick Sogard will be among the club's other options at first base, while utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa will also go through some workouts at first in an attempt to become an option there.

At second, the loss of Gonzalez will only up the reps at second base for Marcelo Mayer. Mayer, who can also play third and shortstop, played 57 innings at second base over eight games last season.