FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The first sign of potential trouble came when Ryan Brasier had to postpone his scheduled appearance on the Mut & Callahan Show Tuesday morning. And then when the show participants -- Mike Mutnansky, Chris Curtis and John Tomase -- ran into the Red Sox reliever at the Fort Myers International Airport the concern was truly amplified.
Ryan Brasier was unable to join the show this morning but he did fly back with us. pic.twitter.com/dvkq04Gp0d
— Mut & Callahan (@MutCallahan) February 19, 2019
As it turned out there was a good explanation why Brasier found himself heading back to Boston. His right pinky toe had become infected.
"He has an infection in his pinky toe, so it's just to make sure there's nothing serious about it," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "He'll go up there, somebody will check it out. Hopefully, he'll be back soon and get back to work."
The derailment is a reminder of how delicate the Red Sox' late-inning relief situation might be, with Brasier competing with Matt Barnes, Tyler Thornburg and Steven Wright for possible closing opportunities. Heath Hembree has also been absent from camp the past few days, attending to the birth of his first child Monday.
