Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan has soreness in the back of one of his legs that could be affecting his mechanics, a baseball source told MassLive.com Saturday. A team official confirmed to MassLive.com that the team was aware of unspecified soreness in one of Hanrahan's legs, but said the soreness was not significant enough for the closer to be unavailable Saturday.
BOSTON — Red Sox closer Joel Hanrahan has soreness in the back of one of his legs that could be affecting his mechanics, a baseball source told MassLive.com Saturday.
A team official confirmed to MassLive.com that the team was aware of unspecified soreness in one of Hanrahan's legs, but said the soreness was not significant enough for the closer to be unavailable Saturday. Hanrahan walked both batters he faced and is having trouble with his mechanics, in particular, his legs.
"I'm fighting some things with my mechanics and my legs, and it's just something that I got to work on," Hanrahan said Saturday. "I guess I'm more of a warm-weather guy, I don't know but you know it's just something that we got to fight through."
Hanrahan battled a right hamstring injury in April of last season and missed five games because of it.
“I had some issues with my legs last year,” Hanrahan said in December when the Red Sox traded for him. "I hurt my hamstring early on in the year and had a sore ankle for a while that went under the wraps. I was wearing a tight ankle brace for a couple of weeks that kind of restricted my mechanics. I don’t think that walks are going to be a concern.”
"I kind of pitched with a bum leg for about a month there," Hanrahan told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in May 2012. "It was something that I was kind of dealing with, but it wasn't going to stop me from going out on the field. I feel like I've got two healthy legs [now], so it definitely makes a big difference."
In 2006, Hanrahan missed time in the minors with a right hamstring issue as well.
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