Sonny Gray Exit Fuels Growing Red Sox Rotation Issue

Red Sox head athletic trainer Brandon Henry, manager Alex Cora and pitching coach Andrew Bailey all joined Gray on the mound in the third inning after he was seen walking around the mound gingerly. Gray threw a few warm-up pitches afterward, but he was then forced to walk off and exit the contest.

Boston simply cannot afford another injury at this point. On Sunday, it was reported that Red Sox No. 1 prospect Payton Tolle was scratched from a scheduled start for Triple-A Worcester as a precaution just in case the Red Sox were rained out and needed to have a doubleheader on Monday.

Boston didn't end up needing to promote Tolle for Monday's contest because the weather didn't force the club to cancel Sunday's tilt. If Gray needs to miss any time, the next obvious solution for the club would be bringing up Tolle in the short term.

After Tolle, the Red Sox are running out of depth arms. Boston No. 7 prospect Jake Bennett is down in Triple-A as well and being stretched out as a starter. It's somewhat shocking how quickly the pitching depth has depleted. If another injury pops up, then all of a sudden it will make sense to look externally. Former Boston fan favorite Lucas Giolito is somehow still available in free agency right now. Boston doesn't need to add just yet. But the club is getting dangerously close to that point with injuries all over the place.

As of right now, it's unclear if Gray will need to miss any time. As more information is provided, it will be shared here. On the bright side, it didn't look like Gray was leaving with an arm injury. It looked like an apparent lower-body injury, but the club hasn't announced the exact details at this point.