Mike Lowell Placed on 15-Day DL

By KC Downey in Red Sox, Top Story ⋅ August 13, 2008 at 5:50pm ⋅ Post a comment

The Red Sox placed banged-up 3B Mike Lowell on the 15-day disabled list with an oblique injury he suffered in last night’s 19-17 Red Sox win. The Sox recalled RHP David Pauley to fill a temporary need in the starting rotation.

The Globe’s Amalie Benjamin reported that Mike Lowell seems frustrated with his injury. In Mike’s own words:

“I took those two swings my last at-bat, the first one I felt like a little grab on my side, the second one I felt something a lot more significant,” said Lowell, who then left the game. “The last pitch I kind of panicked, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think I could swing. I was kind of hoping he’d just flop a curveball or something. I’ve never had this happen to me before. It’s just frustrating.”

Sox Can Cover for Loss of Lowell

Don’t worry too much about Lowell’s injury. The Sox lost a bit of power, but it was obvious Lowell was playing hurt (already dinged up with a shoulder injury). It made sense for the Sox third baseman to hit the DL after his latest injury, giving him time to recover before the stretch run in September.

The Sox can slot Kevin Youkilis over to third base and play Sean Casey at first base, or can slot Jed Lowrie at third and play Julio Lugo (when he comes back) or Alex Cora at SS. I don’t think the Sox lose much defense with Casey at first and Youk at third, and the offensive upgrade that Casey brings over Cora and Lugo is significant.