Boston Red Sox
Curtis Mead reportedly won’t need surgery for his broken wrist.
Curtis Mead reportedly won’t need surgery for his broken wrist. AP Photo/Scott Marshall
New Red Sox infielder Curtis Mead reportedly received some good news on Wednesday.
According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo and Chris Smith, Mead could return to the Red Sox at some point during the 2026 season, as the injured slugger reportedly won’t need surgery to correct a broken wrist that he suffered in his Boston debut on Monday night against the A’s.
“One source said that Mead was given a “tentative” timeline of 6-8 weeks,” Cotillo and Smith wrote. “The regular season ends eight weeks from Sunday, on September 27.”
The Red Sox officially placed Mead on the injured list Wednesday — a devastating setback for both Mead and the Boston club that could use his power in the heart of its relatively listless lineup.
“Yeah, challenging,” Mead said Tuesday of his injury. “I’m super disappointed. It kind of doesn’t feel real that it’s (the) first game and there’ll be a break in-between the next one. … I came here to play and be with the group down the stretch. So yes, definitely disappointing but hopeful that I can be back (and play).”
Mead — who was acquired from the Nationals as part of a one-for-one trade for young lefty Connelly Early on Saturday — has only logged two at-bats with Boston.
In the top of the fourth inning of Monday’s road game at Sutter Health Park, Mead was struck on the left wrist on a 95-mile-per-hour fastball by starter Jack Perkins that caught Mead inside after he initially checked his swing.
The 25-year-old Mead remained in the game as a baserunner, but was removed from the game in the bottom of the fifth inning. Speaking after Boston’s eventual 4-2 win over the A’s on Monday, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy held an optimistic outlook on his new hitter’s health.
“He’s sore,” Tracy said. “We’re just going to take it day to day and see how he feels coming in (Tuesday). A little sore but at least right now it looks like we dodged a bullet maybe.”
Additional testing revealed that Mead fractured his wrist on the hit-by-pitch, potentially sidelining Boston’s trade pickup for the remainder of the regular season.
Mead was in the midst of a breakout season with the Nationals before arriving in Boston last weekend. The Australian native was batting .256 with 17 home runs, 48 RBI, and an .852 OPS over 87 games in Washington this year.
Mead was expected to bolster a Red Sox lineup that ranks 29th out of 30 MLB clubs with just 100 home runs on the season, but now his status moving forward remains up in the air.
Even if Mead doesn’t need to go under the knife, the Red Sox won’t have much time to get Mead back up to speed if he does return in late September — and it remains to be seen just how effective he’ll be after working his way back from such an ailment.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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