Boston Red Sox outfielder Rob Refsnyder left Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins due to left hamstring tightness, the team announced.
Refsnyder went to the bench in the fifth inning, as manager Alex Cora brought in David Hamilton to replace him in the lineup. Hamilton came in to play shortstop, while Ceddanna Rafaela moved to center field and Jarren Duran shifted from center to left.
The Red Sox were up 3-1 at the time, and they went on to win 9-2.
Refsnyder played his part before checking out, though, tying the game 1-1 with an RBI double in the top of the fourth. He finished the day 1-for-2, now boasting a .351 batting average and 1.089 OPS on the season.
Cora spoke to reporters after the game about Refsnyder’s status, and while he said nothing seemed particularly serious at the moment, he held himself back from being fully optimistic.
“He’s doing OK,” Cora said. “He felt like, at that moment, he would just come out to avoid something bigger. … It doesn’t seem like an IL thing, but the way things are going here, you never know.”
The 33-year-old outfielder got hit by a pitch during Spring Training and wound up missing the next month with a fractured pinky toe. After starting the regular season on the 10-day injured list, Refsnyder went through a brief rehab assignment and rejoined the Red Sox on April 18.
In the two weeks since, Refsnyder has carved out a much more consistent role in Boston’s lineup than initially expected. Refsnyder had appeared in 378 MLB games prior to 2024, batting .244 with a .678 OPS in those contests.
Refsnyder has far exceeded that level of production in the early goings of this season, so losing him would deal yet another blow to an already ailing Red Sox lineup.
Shortstop Trevor Story and first baseman Triston Casas are out through at least the All-Star break, possibly longer, while outfielder Masataka Yoshida is on the injured list himself with a sprained thumb. Second baseman Vaughn Grissom is finally off the IL, making his season debut Friday against the Twins.
Boston has Monday off before facing the Atlanta Braves in a two-game road series starting Tuesday. That gives Refsnyder and the Red Sox’s training staff about 48 hours to make sure his hamstring is back to full strength.
