The Boston Red Sox placed first baseman Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left hamstring strain, a setback that arrives as the club opens a series against the Seattle Mariners.
The move came one day after Contreras left Sunday’s 16-1 loss to the New York Yankees in the seventh inning.
Boston recalled catcher and first baseman Mickey Gasper from Triple-A Worcester to take Contreras’ roster spot.
Contreras, 34, has been one of the most productive hitters in the Red Sox lineup this season. He has played 125 games and is batting .274 with a career-high 26 home runs and 79 RBIs.
Those numbers have given Boston a consistent middle-of-the-order presence through a long summer in the American League East.
Interim manager Chad Tracy said after Sunday’s game that Contreras had been dealing with tightness in the hamstring.
“The hamstring was a little tight. Just felt like at that point of the game, I don’t want to push it. So we got him out of there,” Tracy said.
The Red Sox were already trailing by six runs when Contreras came out of the contest. He finished 0-for-3 with a strikeout in what became a lopsided afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
Boston now turns its attention to a three-game set at Fenway Park against Seattle. The Mariners arrive with a losing record, but the Red Sox cannot afford many more nights like Sunday if they want to hold a wild-card position.
Contreras has been more than a power threat. He has also posted a .384 on-base percentage and slugged .516. Those figures rank among the better marks on a Boston roster that has mixed young talent with veteran additions.
The club acquired Contreras in a December trade with St. Louis and immediately slotted him at first base. He has started 124 games there this year and has been a steady presence even through earlier health issues.
Those earlier issues included illness earlier this month and other minor ailments that briefly kept him out of the lineup. Still, he has remained one of Boston’s most reliable run producers when healthy.
Without him, the Red Sox will look to Nick Sogard and Gasper to share time at first base.
Gasper has spent most of the year at Worcester and gives the club another right-handed bat who can also catch.
The timing of the injury is awkward. Boston is in the final stretch of the regular season and every series carries extra weight. The Red Sox entered Monday with a 74-63 record and are fighting to stay in the postseason picture.
A 10-day injured list stint is the minimum required under league rules, but hamstring strains can linger.
Tracy and the training staff will monitor Contreras’ progress before deciding when he can resume baseball activities .For now, Boston must find a way to generate offense without one of its primary threats.
The Mariners series begins Monday night at Fenway Park. How quickly Contreras returns could shape the Red Sox’s September plans.
