Jacoby Ellsbury Exits Game With Apparent Shoulder Injury

While sliding into second base, Jacoby Ellsbury crashed into Rays' shortstop Reid Brignac, who then fell squarely on Ellsbury's right shoulder. He immediately grabbed for that shoulder, and was taken out of the game by the Red Sox immediately, replaced by Ryan Sweeney, with Cody Ross, who was in right field, moving over to center.

There's no word yet on how serious the injury was, but it wouldn't be surprising to hear that his shoulder is dislocated. If that's the case, how soon he returns has a lot to do with whether there was any damage in the area besides the dislocation. Of course, we don't know if that is what's even wrong with him, so let's not try to play doctor with him just yet.

If Ellsbury were to end up on the disabled list, or, worst-case, miss a significant amount of time, then the outfield would be Darnell McDonald, Cody Ross, and Ryan Sweeney until Carl Crawford is able to return from his wrist rehabilitation. With Ryan Kalish not in the minors yet, and Che-Hsuan Lin the only other outfielder on the 40-man roster, the Red Sox might be lacking in options. Lars Anderson just started to play the outfield, so he's likely not one of the possibilities, and Jason Repko is not on the already-full 40-man roster.

We'll keep you posted on any additional information regarding Ellsbury's injury. For now, the Red Sox are saying it's a "right shoulder injury" that will be further evaluated.

[Update 9:58 pm] According to Alex Speier, an industry source has said that Ellsbury suffered a dislocation that could put him out of commission for six-to-eight weeks. Earlier today, Che-Hsuan Lin was scratched from the Red Sox lineup, so it's likely he'll take Ellsbury's place on the roster.