Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray abruptly left his start against the Detroit Tigers on April 20 with an apparent injury.
Gray had completed 2.2 innings when he was visited by manager Alex Cora, pitching coach Andrew Bailey, and head athletic trainer Brandon Henry. After a meeting on the mound, he was removed from the game and replaced by left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe.
The Red Sox led the Tigers 2-1 when Gray was removed.
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If whatever ails Gray is enough to send him to the injured list, Payton Tolle could be the next man up. His last start was April 12, when he pitched five shutout innings against the Columbus Cliipers.
As Andrew Parker of Sox Prospects noted, the Worcester Red Sox scratched Tolle from his most recent start over the weekend.
Tolle, a 23-year-old left-hander, Is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA through three starts for Boston’s top farm team. He allowed three runs in 10.2 innings (2.53 ERA) in spring training before he was optioned to Triple-A to start the 2026 season.
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Boston’s immediate concern is Gray, who is 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in his first four starts with the Red Sox. Gray, 36, is a three-time All-Star in 14 MLB seasons with the Oakland A’s, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals, who traded him to Boston in November 2025 for three prospects.
More to come on this story.
