The Boston Red Sox will send the majority of their pitchers to the injured list at some point this season, which has become standard operating procedure in recent years for most teams across MLB.
It’s pretty rare for things to reach the point they have with Justin Slaten, though.
Slaten is currently sitting on the injured list with an unidentifiable neck/shoulder injury that will keep him on the shelf indefinitely, according to Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Slaten discussed the injury over the weekend, though everyone is still trying to figure out what is going on.
“When we were looking at the (test results), they just kind of said it’s not something we’ve really ever seen before,” Slaten said. “I just asked (head athletic trainer Brandon Henry), what would I call it? He was like, we don’t even really know what to call it.
“… We don’t know what to call it right now, to be honest with you, but it’s not like some big dark secret or anything like that. Things are getting better. I will be fine. I will be able to throw and everything.”
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Slaten has called in “very minor,” but the current prognostications definitely won’t help anyone feel better.
The Red Sox initially placed the right-hander on the IL on June 1, though that shoulder inflammation diagnosis — which would have allowed for a quick return — turned into this nerve-related issue that comes without a definitive timeline.
Slaten, who has a 3.47 ERA across 24 appearances, is just waiting to feel better, as his throwing program will begin as soon as he feels ready to go.
Boston will just have to wait in the meantime.
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