BOSTON — The Red Sox placed Tyler O’Neill on the 7-day injured list Thursday. They have activated Rob Refsnyder from the 10-day IL.
O’Neill has been diagnosed with a mild concussion, according to a source. The IL stint is retroactive to Tuesday. So he’ll be eligible to return next Tuesday when Boston is in Cleveland.
O’Neill was injured Monday when he and third baseman Rafael Devers collided in left field going after a 191-foot fly ball. O’Neill received eight stitches for a cut near his eyebrow. Their heads collided.
The left fielder/right fielder has been Boston’s most productive hitter so far. He is batting .313 with a .459 on-base percentage and seven homers in 15 games.
Refsnyder began the season on the IL after fracturing his toe during spring training. The 33-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder went 4-for-12 (.333 batting average) with a homer, double, one RBI, three runs, one walk and five strikeouts in four rehab games for Triple-A Worcester.
The Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians will play the final game of their four-game series Thursday. Boston is trying to split the series. Manager Alex Cora is using an interesting lineup with Enmanuel Valdez batting cleanup and Wilyer Abreu batting third.
In other injuries news, Rafael Devers will undergo an MRI on his knee Thursday.
“Just to make sure there’s nothing structurally going on,” manager Alex Cora said. “He didn’t feel great (Wednesday). He felt like he wasn’t able to stay on the (back) leg, he was out in front. I talked to him last night. I said, ‘Let’s do this so we know.’ And hopefully, it’s what we think it is and he can deal with it and get treatment and all that stuff. But I think it’s more for his peace of mind.”