Boston Red Sox pitcher Hunter Dobbins will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament Friday night.
It is the second time Dobbins has torn his ACL in his right knee, with the first time happening when he played high school football.
“Yeah. I’ve torn my ACL in this knee before, and it was the same feeling,” Dobbins told reporters Saturday from Boston’s clubhouse, where he was wearing a red sleeve on his right leg. “Kind of some denial went into it, tried to go through that warmup pitch, felt the same sensation again, so, at that point, I knew what it was.”
Dobbins was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday and in a corresponding move, the Red Sox recalled right-hander Richard Fitts from Triple-A Worcester.
Dobbins, 25, left Boston’s 5-4 win against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday in the second inning with what the team termed right knee pain.
The injury occurred when Dobbins covered first on Rays center fielder Chandler Simpson’s groundout to first baseman Abraham Toro for the second out of the inning. He came up limping after hitting the bag. Following a warm-up pitch, Red Sox manager Alex Cora called upon Jorge Alcala out of the bullpen.
The team did not announce a timeline for the rookie right-hander’s recovery or plans for surgery but Dobbins is already looking ahead, telling reporters Saturday, “In my head I have Opening Day next year kind of circled. Whether or not that’s realistic, I don’t know, but that’s my goal.”
Dobbins had just been reinstated from the 15-day injured list prior to the game, having missed 18 games due to a right elbow strain. He made one rehab start for Double-A Portland prior to his return.
“You’re trying to come out here and compete with these guys, trying to win games, and then just to know that you’re done for the year is pretty tough,” Dobbins said.
Dobbins, who made his MLB debut on April 6, is 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA in 13 appearances (11 starts).
Fitts, 25, has split time between Boston and Triple-A Worcester this season. With the Red Sox, he is 1-3 with a 4.28 ERA in eight starts.
–Field Level Media
