After breakout 2025 season, versatile Boston Red Sox bat acknowledges he needs more time to build back strength.
Romy Gonzalez entered camp hoping to pick up where he left off.
Instead, the Boston Red Sox utility man is now facing the very real possibility that Opening Day will arrive without him.
After receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his shoulder a couple of weeks ago, Gonzalez acknowledged that being ready for March 26 isn’t realistic.
He’s currently limited to running and agility work and hasn’t resumed baseball activities like fielding, throwing, or swinging. The earliest he expects to begin hitting is March 6, and even that comes with caution.
“At this point, I think the ramp-up would be a little too quick,” Gonzalez told the media, noting he doesn’t want to rush back and risk hurting himself or the team.
It’s a frustrating development for a player coming off a breakout 2025 season, when he emerged as one of Boston’s most effective weapons against left-handed pitching. Gonzalez hit .305 overall and punished southpaws with authority, carving out a clear role as a versatile bat who could move around the diamond and lengthen the lineup.
That specific skill set is what makes his potential absence more than just a minor spring storyline.
Sep 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Romy Gonzalez (23) takes batting practice before game one of the Wildcard round of the 2025 MLB playoffs against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)Internally, Gonzalez had been viewed as one of the connective pieces on a roster built around flexibility - a player manager Alex Cora could deploy in multiple spots while counting on competitive at-bats. But shoulder injuries rarely follow a clean timeline, and Gonzalez is still dealing with lingering discomfort as he works toward a full return.
If he does open the season on the sidelines, Boston suddenly has a clearer bench competition, with several depth options potentially fighting for a spot while the team navigates the early schedule - including a series against the Cincinnati Reds that could feature lefties like Andrew Abbott and Nick Lodolo.
That would have been good eats for Gonzalez. But for now, the tone around Gonzalez is cautious rather than alarmed.
There’s no indication of a major setback, just the understanding that building back strength - especially for a player whose value comes from versatility - takes time.
Whenever he’s fully healthy, the expectation hasn’t changed:
Gonzalez will have a meaningful role.
The only question is when that timeline actually begins.
Feb 28, 2024; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox shortstop Romy Gonzalez (23) advances to third base on a base hit at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in the second inning. (Jim Rassol/Imagn Images)JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
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Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.