MRI Shows No Tear In David Otiz' Achilles

UPDATE [4:30 p.m. EST] -- David Ortiz will not be placed on the disabled list yet, but according to Sean McAdam he'll seek a second opinion tomorrow after waking up with more pain than he'd felt last night.

An MRI on David Ortiz' sore right heel has revealed no tear in the slugger's Achilles tendon. Rob Bradford had the news first.

Ortiz suffered an injury to his heel in last night's win against the Chicago White Sox, limping home after making a somewhat awkward turn around second base on Adrian Gonzalez' go-ahead home run. He would leave the game immediately afterwards, apparently in a fair deal of pain as fans and media alike speculated about hamstrings and knees.

The fear was, of course, that a ruptured Achilles tendon or some similar injury could sideline Ortiz possibly for the rest of the season--a blow that would be hard to recover from. It's clear now that the worst-case scenario has not come to pass, but that doesn't mean all is well. Ortiz has reportedly been experiencing continued pain and swelling in his heel throughout the day. The lack of serious structural damage should be enough to prevent any really long-term absence, but a disabled list trip is still possible, and would leave Ortiz out for the rest of this all-important July.

If Ortiz were to miss time, Mauro Gomez could possibly make his return to the team after managing an OPS of .756 in his short major league debut. Alternatively, the Sox could look to fill Ortiz' roster spot with a defensive player or pitcher, while alleviating some of their outfield crowding by getting the likes of Ryan Sweeney and Daniel Nava in the game more consistently, be it by moving Ryan Sweeney into right or giving Carl Crawford or Jacoby Ellsbury days off from the outfield in the early days of their return to action.

We'll keep you up-to-date as we hear more on any possible roster moves. Hopefully