Tempers can flare at times during the Spring Training portion of the baseball season, even between teammates. That was the case in Fort Myers, Florida earlier this spring, and it will cost one of the top pitching prospects in the Boston Red Sox farm system some practice, playing time, and development.
Red Sox pitching prospect Michael Kopech fractured his right hand — his throwing hand — in an altercation with a teammate, according to a report from WEEI. The Red Sox issued a statement to state they are reviewing the situation internally. The teammate Kopech reportedly was in a fight with is unknown at this time. Kopech was seen wearing a cast on his right hand on Tuesday, per WEEI.
The Providence Journal got some quotes from Red Sox GM Mike Hazen, who called the incident “stupid” while also revealing the timeframe for Kopech’s recovery was still uncertain.
“It was stupid. He’s going to have to grow up, obviously, with the things that have happened so far,” Hazen said. “He’s got a long road to go to get to the big leagues. He obviously has a ton of potential. These types of things, you don’t want to put more barriers in front of you than playing professional baseball already presents to you.”
[…]
“It depends on the severity of the fracture and if we have to do anything with it or not,” Hazen said. “Right now we’re unsure exactly. There’s a wide range of timeframes depending on what we have to do. We don’t have those answers yet.”
Kopech was suspended 50 games for violating the Minor League Baseball drug policy for using a stimulant called Oxilofrine. He started 15 games in 2015 for the A-level Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League, in which he struck out 70 batters and walked 27 over 65 innings of work while pitching to a 2.63 ERA.
The 19-year old Kopech was a first-round pick, 33rd overall, by the Red Sox in 2014 out of Mount Pleasant High School in Texas. He received a signing bonus of $1.5 million.
[WEEI]
