Red Sox catcher Mickey Gasper sustained what manager Chad Tracy called a “significant biceps injury” during the first game of Boston’s doubleheader with the Cubs on Friday.  Gasper was favoring his right arm in the aftermath of a fifth-inning strikeout, and Connor Wong replaced Gasper behind the plate prior to the top of the sixth.

After the second game of the twin bill, Tracy told MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and other reporters that Gasper would “still be seeing more doctors” to determine the full extent of the problem.  “We’ll get a final conclusion but it’s a pretty significant biceps injury.  It’s probably going to take him out,” Tracy said, referring to Gasper’s availability for at least the Wild Card Series and possibly all of Boston’s playoff run.

Claimed off waivers from the Nationals last winter, Gasper has been an unexpectedly dangerous hitter for the Red Sox, batting .251/.357/.466 with 10 home runs over 225 plate appearances.  Most of this production came during a memorable 59-PA stretch between August 17 and September 4, following Gasper’s second call-up of the season from Triple-A Worcester.  Gasper batted .378/.525/1.000 with eight homers during this nuclear-hot streak, dwarfing the .186/.276/.250 slash line he’d posted in the first 252 PA of his MLB career (which began in August 2024 during his first stint with Boston).

While Gasper has naturally cooled off significantly in the last few weeks, the switch-hitter’s ability to crush right-handed pitching and play both first base and catcher made him a strong candidate to be included on Boston’s postseason roster.  Adley Rutschman will get most or all of the catching duties with Wong slated to be the primary backup catcher, but Gasper could’ve gotten at-bats as a platoon DH or even at first base, given how Willson Contreras is still recovering from a hand injury.

Contreras hasn’t played since September 17, when he was hit in the right hand by a Jakob Junis pitch.  Ceddanne Rafaela is day-to-day with hamstring tightness and didn’t play in the doubleheader, though he did play on Thursday.  Beyond Gasper, the Red Sox bench has been thinned by injuries to such players as Masataka Yoshida, Curtis Mead, Anthony Seigler, and Eli White, who might all be unavailable for the postseason.

The situation will look better if Contreras and Rafaela are able to suit up against the Yankees in the Wild Card Series, and with their playoff spot clinched, the Red Sox can rest as many players as they want in advance of Game 1 on Tuesday.  A nor’easter storm this weekend has led to some unusual rescheduling, as a planned series with the Cubs at Fenway Park turned into a doubleheader on Friday, an off-day today, and a final game to be played on Sunday at Tropicana Field.  The Red Sox will then head from St. Petersburg to the Bronx for the start of their playoff series.