Caleb Durbin left Wednesday’s game with a left pinkie injury that initially looked far worse than it turned out. The Red Sox infielder partially dislocated the finger on a head-first slide into first base, but he said afterward that he does not expect to land on the injured list.
That matters now because the Red Sox open a four-game series against the Yankees on Thursday, and every move in the lineup is already under a tighter lens. Durbin, who exited in the top of the third inning of an eventual 8-6 loss to the Rockies, said X-rays were negative and the finger was put back into place, easing the immediate fear of a longer absence.
Durbin called the slide “being a dummy in the heat of the moment,” a blunt answer that fit the way the play unfolded. He had hit a chopper to TJ Rumfield before the throw went to Kyle Freeland, who was covering first, and the awkward end of the play left Durbin with what the club’s interim manager, Chad Tracy, called a finger that was “kind of facing a direction it shouldn’t.”
Tracy said the finger was popped back in, and Durbin said he does not anticipate needing more tests. The diagnosis was a left fifth finger subluxation, which sounds severe but usually means the joint slipped partially out of place before going back. Durbin said the biggest issue was stiffness and the frustration of having to leave while the game was still going.
He also made clear that the bigger concern was not pain so much as the timing. “The frustration is just having to come out and putting the guys in a tough position,” he said, adding that the outcome was much better than it first appeared. That is why the next few days matter: if the finger settles down as expected, he can keep playing through the series without a trip to the injured list.
His exit forced immediate defensive reshuffling. Marcelo Mayer came in at shortstop, Andruw Monasterio moved from short to second, and Anthony Seigler shifted from second to third, a reminder that one awkward slide can ripple through a game in a hurry. The Red Sox also have another lineup concern in Roman Anthony, who did not make substantive progress with his sprained right wrist and hand during the week they were away.
For now, the most important number is not the score from Wednesday night. It is the fact that X-rays were negative and Durbin expects to stay on the roster as the Red Sox begin a series that will help define the week in front of them. If his finger tightens up the way he expects, the worry around Red Sox Game Today shifts from an injured list decision to a much simpler question: how much stiffness can he tolerate before it finally becomes a problem?
