Breaking: Carl Crawford to Miss Three Months

This is not good news.

Remember how Carl Crawford was going to have his elbow examined? After visiting with Dr. James Andrews, it has been determined that Crawford will not be able to play for three months. Nick Carfardo of Boston Globe first reporting the news (via Twitter). It is unclear what the specifics of the problem are though we can safely guess they have to do with the outfielder's left elbow. Missing three months of the season would put Crawford back in a Red Sox uniform at some time in August.

This marks another in a series of difficulties for Crawford since signing with the Red Sox two off seasons ago. The outfielder posted the worst season of his career in 2011 and has followed that up by sustaining a serious injury that looks like it will cost him at least the majority of the 2012 season. Unfortunate doesn't begin to describe it. The Red Sox, who were planning on having him back in the near future, now will have to get by with more of what they've been running out there so far. That means more Marlon Byrd, more Darnell McDonald, and more Ryan Sweeney.

There has been no announcement as of yet as to what the exact nature of the injury is, but the Red Sox may be making one soon. When they do, we'll let you know. Beyond that, we'll certainly have more on this situation here at OTM as details become available.