Red Sox designated hitter and occasional first baseman David Ortiz will be shut down for five to seven days due to continuing soreness in his left heel, according to reports. Ortiz has been dealing with this issue all spring and Red Sox officials are hoping this shutdown won't mean he will miss Opening Day.
Red Sox manager John Farrell met with the media and explained Ortiz' situation-- 'It's separate from any kind of previous issues that he dealt with. It's in the bone-tendon juncture, where he's feeling the inflammation. As a result, we're going to shut him down for a few days here to let that quiet down completely before we initiate any kind baseball activities after that." These issues Ortiz is experiencing are in the bony areas of Ortiz' foot, and not the Achilles tendon. Farrell described the organization's relief that he hasn't re-injured the Achilles, saying ''I think any time we can give some assurance that there's no re-injury, there's no further damage of any kind, that's got to give some peace of mind,'' Farrell said. ''Yet the frustration exists because of not being on the field.''
Ortiz was a bright spot for Boston during a dreary 2012 campaign before issues with his Achilles tendon wrecked the year. In 90 games, the man they call Big Papi batted .318 with with 23 home runs, 60 RBI and a .611 slugging percentage. Those numbers were a continuation of a huge 2011 season in which he batted .309, swatted 29 homers, drove in 96 runs and slugged .554. The last two seasons marked a return to elite form after a three-year stretch in which his power numbers remained steady but his batting average dipped into the mid-to-low .200s.
While the left heel is the reason Ortiz is being held out of activities for the next week, he underwent MRIs on both of his heels, which bears watching.
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