The Boston Red Sox placed outfielder Adam Duvall on the injured list on Monday because of a wrist injury, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Duvall hurt himself on a diving-catch attempt on Sunday; it's unclear how severe his injury is at this point beyond him requiring a stay on the IL. In a corresponding move, the Red Sox recalled infielder Bobby Dalbec from Triple-A Worcester.
Duvall, 34, had been unexpectedly productive to begin the season. He heads to the shelf having hit .455 /.514/1.030 (304 OPS+) with four home runs and 14 runs batted in over his first 37 plate appearances. In fact, Duvall entered Monday ranked first in the majors in FanGraphs' wRC+ metric -- a catch-all measure that properly weighs on-base percentage and adjusts for ballpark.
It's fair to write that the Red Sox did not anticipate Duvall to serve as a critical part of their lineup when they signed him to a one-year contract worth $7 million back in January. Otherwise, they almost certainly would have inked him to a longer contract earlier in the winter.
Duvall, now in his 10th big-league season, has a career slash line of .233/.292/.472 (100 OPS+) with career-highs that include 38 home runs and a 117 OPS+. He'd spent most of the past five seasons with the Atlanta Braves.
Raimel Tapia is the only Red Sox player other than Duvall to receive action in center field this season.
Dalbec, 27, is a former top prospect who has yet to establish himself as a quality big-league player. In nearly 900 career plate appearances, he's sporting a 101 OPS+ with a 34.9% strikeout rate. Dalbec has played first and third base in the past. Boston tried him out at shortstop during the spring, and it's at least possible he'll see some action there as well.
The Red Sox will begin a four-game set on Monday night versus the Tampa Bay Rays. At 9-0, the Rays are Major League Baseball's final undefeated team standing. The Rays have won all of their contests to date by at least four runs.
