Red Sox’s Alex Cora gives concerning Justin Slaten injury update

Story by

Alex House, ClutchPoints

Wed, Apr 8, 2026 ·

2 min read

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Despite fans’ pleas for another impactful bat to replace Alex Bregman , one can argue that the biggest question facing the 2026 Boston Red Sox was their bullpen. The organization signed left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe in March, but Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow is still placing a great amount of faith in 38-year-old Aroldis Chapman , the inconsistent Greg Weissert and injury-prone righties Garrett Whitlock and Justin Slaten . That last hurler curiously has not pitched since last Saturday.

And now we know why. Following Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers , manager Alex Cora revealed that Slaten is currently feeling soreness in his right side . He refrained from calling it an oblique issue, but the team is certainly monitoring this setback.

“We’ll see how he feels tomorrow and then we’ll go from there,” Cora said, per Tyler Milliken. Although he allowed the winning run to score in an extra-innings loss versus the Cincinnati Reds on March 28, Slaten has been quite sharp to begin the new season.

The 2019 third-round draft pick, whom the Red Sox acquired in a 2023 trade with the New York Mets , has not been charged with an earned run through 3 1/3 innings of work. He has five strikeouts and two walks. When healthy, Slaten is arguably the X-factor of this pen. The problem is, however, he is constantly battling injuries.

The 28-year-old missed extended stretches of time in each of his first two MLB seasons, and now there is a possibility he is forced to endure another recovery period. Slaten is surely growing tired of these physical hurdles, and Boston needs him to provide meaningful innings in 2026.

In a campaign that has already featured plenty of blunders , headaches and bad optics, the Red Sox could use a lucky break. Perhaps the baseball gods will accommodate them in the form of a positive Justin Slaten injury update.