The Boston Red Sox placed All-Star third baseman Rafael Devers on the 10-day injured list on Saturday, ending his season after he played for weeks with soreness in both shoulders.
Devers, 27, underwent MRI exams on both shoulders Saturday and went on the injured list because of left shoulder inflammation.
In other moves Saturday, the Red Sox optioned right-hander Cooper Criswell to Triple-A Worcester, recalled rookie utility player Mickey Gasper from Worcester and reinstated right-hander Luis Garcia from the 15-day IL.
Devers was batting .272 with 28 home runs, 83 RBIs, a .354 on-base percentage and .516 slugging percentage in 138 games. He left the Red Sox’s 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Friday in the 11th inning after making several erratic throws from third base.
Boston (76-78) has eight games remaining in the regular season and is five games behind the Twins for the final American League wild-card spot. Saturday’s game between the two teams was rained out.
“It doesn’t make sense to push him, right?” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Saturday and added that he didn’t know if Devers would need surgery until the MRI results were completed.
“Whatever it is, we’ll take care of it,” Cora said.
Devers’ issue with his right shoulder goes back to a July 23 game against the Colorado Rockies, when he dove for a ball. He stayed in the lineup every day with the exception of a break from Aug. 27-29. His ailing left shoulder led him to sit out the All-Star Game in July.
A three-time All-Star, Devers is a career .279 hitter with 200 homers and 638 RBIs in 980 games in eight seasons with the Red Sox since 2017.
Criswell, 28, is 6-5 this season, his first with Boston, with a 4.08 ERA, 31 walks and 73 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings over 26 games (18 starts).
Gasper, 28, was 0-for-12 in 16 plate appearances in 10 games for Boston. He batted .328 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs in 92 games for the Red Sox’s Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.
The Red Sox obtained GarcÃa, 37, from the Los Angeles Angels on July 30 for four players. He was 5-1 with a 3.71 ERA in 43 2/3 innings over 45 relief appearances for the Angels. Garcia was 0-0 with a 10.32 ERA in 11 1/3 innings over 11 relief appearances for Boston before going on the 15-day IL on Aug. 27 with right elbow inflammation.