In the bottom of the fourth inning of the Boston Red Sox' home opener, outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury had to leave the game with a shoulder injury after attempting to break up a double play.
With one out, Dustin Pedroia hit a groundball to shortstop Reid Brignac, who took the ball to second base himself and fired to first. As he was throwing, Ellsbury slid into second, with Brignac falling on him. Multiple replays showed Brignac's full weight landing on Ellsbury's right shoulder and arm, and Ellsbury walked off the field with Red Sox trainers, clutching his right arm to his chest without moving it.
The Red Sox have already been dealing with injury problems in the outfield, as Carl Crawford has missed the start of the season and is still out indefinitely. If Ellsbury is out for an extended period of time, Cody Ross has the most experience in center of the in-house candidates, though Darnell McDonald can play center as well. The other option on the 40-man roster is Che-Hsuan Lin, who would probably be a wee bit of an offensive downgrade.