Cody Ross Hits Red Sox DL with Fractured Foot

Cody Ross is the latest Boston Red Sox outfielder to hit the club’s disabled list.  Ross has been diagnosed with a fractured bone in his left foot, and the Red Sox are listing him as out indefinitely.  While no timetable has been established for Ross’s return, Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine told reporters that he expects Ross to return this season.

Ross sustained the injury when he fouled a pitch off his foot during the Red Sox weekend series versus the Philadelphia Phillies.  The initial MRI revealed a non-displaced fracture in Ross’s foot, something that generally takes six-to-eight weeks to recover from.  Ross has not yet been placed on the Red Sox disabled list and has said that he’s seeking a second opinion.

In his first season with the Red Sox, Ross has hit at a clip of .271/.349/.534 with 18 extra base hits and 28 RBIs over his 133 at-bats.  He joins fellow Red Sox outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, Darnell McDonald, Jason Repko and Ryan Kalish on the club’s DL.

Because Ross has not yet been placed on the Red Sox DL, a corresponding transaction to fill his roster spot has yet to be announced.

It has been speculated that Ross’s injury could allow the Red Sox to keep both Will Middlebrooks and Kevin Youkilis on their roster when Youkilis returns from the DL.  One of those two could be forced to play the outfield for the ailing Red Sox, a position regular first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has already manned this season.

With their outfield depth depleted due to injuries, the Red Sox were forced into a starting outfield of Daniel Nava, Marlon Byrd and Che-Hsuan Lin last night against the Baltimore Orioles.  None of those three were on the Red Sox Opening Day roster.

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