Injury Notes: Gonzalez, Stephenson, Dunn, Edman
As of last week, Red Sox utility infielder Romy Gonzalez was experiencing shoulder troubles and received a platelet-rich plasma injection. He admitted that he would likely miss Opening Day, though he may end up missing significantly more time. Today, Sean McAdam of MassLive adds that Gonzalez will visit a shoulder specialist next week to see if he needs to undergo surgery. Gonzalez opined that surgery “is not a season-ender by any means, in my opinion,” though any longer absence for the lefty-mashing infielder will be a blow to the Red Sox’ lineup regardless.
The right-handed-hitting Gonzalez injured his shoulder at the end of 2025 and experienced renewed soreness in January while ramping up for Spring Training. He posted career-best offensive numbers in 2025, batting .305/.343/.483 with a 123 wRC+ in 341 plate appearances for the Sox. While his performance against right-handers was slightly below average (95 wRC+), he absolutely teed off on southpaws. In 143 PA with the platoon advantage, Gonzalez hit seven of his nine home runs and posted a 162 wRC+ that was tied for 12th-best among hitters with at least 100 PA against lefties. Obviously, the team will hope he avoids surgery, but with that kind of production, they’ll do what it takes to ensure Gonzalez comes back at full strength.
A few other injury updates from around the league:
- Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson faced live hitters for the first time on Friday as he works to be ready for Opening Day, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Stephenson said there is understandably “a little polishing to do” but added that he felt good physically and reached 95 MPH on his fastball (he averaged 96.4 MPH on his four-seamer last year). Tommy John surgery and symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome have limited him to 10 innings with Los Angeles. In his last healthy season in 2023, Stephenson threw 52 1/3 innings with a 3.10 ERA and a well-above-average 38.3% strikeout rate. When healthy, he should factor into the late-inning mix with fellow right-hander Ben Joyce, who is currently rehabbing his own shoulder issue.
- Reds outfielder Blake Dunn is going for an MRI on his left knee today, according to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Dunn hyperextended his left knee while attempting to make a catch yesterday. The 27-year-old was a 15th-round draft pick by the Reds in 2021 and appeared in 49 big-league games from 2024-25, though he has posted just a 63 wRC+. He fared much better at Triple-A in 2025, batting .291/.397/.401 with a 121 wRC+ along with 24 stolen bases in 98 games. Currently, Cincinnati has Will Benson, Dane Myers, and Spencer Steer on hand as outfield backups. A healthy Dunn will stay at Triple-A for depth. [UPDATE: Dunn is dealing with a lower-grade knee strain, manager Terry Francona told Charlie Goldsmith and other reporters. Dunn will be sidelined for a few days, but appears to have avoided a lengthy absence.]
- Dodgers utilityman Tommy Edman took light batting practice yesterday, per Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. He could face higher velocity off a machine in a few days if he continues to progress, but he is still weeks away from being fully ramped up. Edman underwent surgery in November to address an ankle issue that plagued him all season. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed a couple of weeks ago that Edman would begin the year on the injured list. This news won’t move up his return, though in any case, the team wants Edman at full strength. He is entering the second year of his five-year, $74MM contract. He posted an 81 wRC+ in 97 games in 2025, showing a drop in power while also striking out slightly less than in 2024.
Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images
Reds Outright Dominic Smith
September 4: Smith has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has the right to elect free agency though it’s not yet clear if he has chosen to do so.
September 2: The Reds announced that they have recalled outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville. In a corresponding move, first baseman Dominic Smith has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Smith, 29, was with the Reds for just over a week. He signed with them on August 22 and has since taken 29 plate appearances over nine games, hitting just .192/.276/.269 in that time. That’s obviously not great production but it’s also not a meaningful sample size to draw conclusions from.
The fact that Smith is now being bumped from the roster might say more about the team than about him. The Reds were 5.5 games back of a playoff spot when Smith was signed but they have since fallen to 9.5 games back. With their playoff hopes now essentially dashed, there’s little use for an impending free agent like Smith, especially one with no real defensive versatility. They can instead use their remaining games to give playing time to players trying to earn roles on next year’s club, such as Dunn.
Smith has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment, so he will likely be a free agent in the coming days, either by a release or by him exercising his right to opt for the open market. Prior to his disappointing stint in Cincinnati, he had a better run in Boston. In 84 games for the Red Sox, he hit .237/.317/.390 for a wRC+ of 96, indicating he was 4% below league average.
He could perhaps try to latch on somewhere else for the remainder of the season, though he won’t be postseason eligible with a new club as it’s now after the September 1 cut-off date. Clubs out of contention like the Reds would probably prefer to give playing time to controllable players. Smith had a strong run in 2019-20, hitting .299/.366/.571 over those two seasons, but it’s been a rough ride side since then. In over 1,500 trips to the plate from 2021 to the present, he’s hit .241/.311/.360 for a wRC+ of 86.
Reds Select Blake Dunn
The Reds announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville, with infielder/outfielder Nick Martini optioned in a corresponding move. They already had an open 40-man spot after first baseman Mike Ford was designated for assignment last week.
Dunn, 25, was a 15th-round selection of the Reds in 2021 and collected a bonus of $125K. As one would expect with that modest draft selection and bonus, Dunn wasn’t considered one of the club’s top prospects, but he has improved his stock with some strong play lately.
Last year, he got into 124 minor league contests, split between High-A and Double-A. He drew a walk in 11.1% of his 559 plate appearances and also hit 23 home runs. He finished the year with a combined batting line of .312/.425/.522 and a 158 wRC+ while also stealing 54 bases and playing all three outfield positions.
Coming into 2024, Baseball America ranked him the #14 prospect in the organization while FanGraphs had him at #15, though he hasn’t carried over his tremendous offensive showing from 2023. The Reds bumped him to Triple-A and his walk rate is up to 13.3% but his strikeouts are also up to a 30.6% rate, a big jump from last year’s 23.3% clip. He’s slashing .223/.348/.378 on the year overall, production which translates to a 94 wRC+.
Even with the bat seeming to take a bit of a step back, Dunn could still be useful with his speed and defense. He’s swiped another nine bags already this year without being caught. The Reds have a regular outfield rotation consisting of left-handed hitters TJ Friedl, Jake Fraley, Jacob Hurtubise and Will Benson, as well as the right-handed hitting Stuart Fairchild.
Since Dunn is also a righty, perhaps he will take some playing time in the short side of a platoon and shield some of those lefty swingers from tough southpaws, while also doing some pinch running and taking some late-game defensive replacement duties. He’s hitting .250/.298/.558 against lefties so far this year, compared to just .208/.372/.281 without the platoon advantage. Dunn will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.