Red Sox’ Eduardo Rodriguez out 3-4 weeks with knee injury

Red Sox left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will rest for 3-4 weeks with a right knee subluxation and will avoid surgery for now, according to CSNNE’s Evan Drellich. Rodriguez received a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, who recommended the shutdown as a conservative healing approach.

Rodriguez slipped while warming up before his latest start in Baltimore and was placed on the disabled list last week. Though Dr. Andrews’ examination revealed no ligament damage, surgery on the knee remains possible at some point in the future and would require a 5-6 month absence for Rodriguez.

Though the extended loss of Rodriguez is obviously not preferable for the Red Sox, the hope is that he can still return and help the team during the stretch run. His injury will force fellow southpaw Brian Johnson into the rotation for the time being alongside Chris Sale, David Price, Drew Pomeranz and Rick Porcello in a lefty-heavy mix.

Rodriguez, 24, has been solid for Boston this season, posting a 3.54 ERA and 9.6 K/9 in 61 innings over 10 starts. He suffered a similar subluxation during spring training last year and ended up logging only 107 innings on the season.