Jed Lowrie is hitting just .213 since coming off the disabled list in early August, including a current 0-for-16 slump, and yesterday the Red Sox infielder got a cortisone injection in an effort to play through season-long shoulder problems.
Lowrie missed six weeks after injuring his shoulder in May and told Jason Mastrodonato of MLB.com that getting the injection was an easy decision:
I wanted to do whatever I could to be out there and to help the team and really just get the shoulder feeling better. And [team doctors] said it would do all that. You play the hand that you’re dealt, but I think the hand I’ve been dealt right now, it’s tough to deal with. It’s tough to hit when your shoulder’s inflamed and all sorts of things are going on at once. I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure I can help this team win, however I can.
Prior to the injury Lowrie was hitting well enough to leapfrog Marco Scutaro on the shortstop depth chart, but at this point in the season he’s little more than a utility man. And at age 27 his lengthy history of health problems have kept Lowrie from emerging as a reliable regular.
