Devastating News For Red Sox Rookie Hunter Dobbins

The Boston Red Sox feared the worst for rookie starter Hunter Dobbins after he came up lame on a play covering first base in the second inning on Friday night.

And 'the worst' is what they got: Dobbins suffered a torn ACL and is out for the season, a brutal blow for the surprising rookie.

Hunter Dobbins tore his ACL on this play

It was the second inning of his first start back from an elbow injury pic.twitter.com/HcBN4J77qj
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 12, 2025

He was just two innings into his return from an elbow strain that had kept him out for three weeks, now the 25-year-old's season has most surely come to an end.

Dobbins had a 4-1 mark with a 4.13 ERA in his rookie season, and was being counted on as a solid part of the Red Sox rotation.

“Tough,” manager Alex Cora said. “He put himself on the map, right? He did a good job for us. When it happened, I thought [it was] something minor, but talking to him, he felt it right away. He's been through that before. So [he’ll have] surgery, [he’ll] rehab the right way and be ready whenever he's ready.

“Obviously not cutting corners on the rehab, that's the most important thing. We know we have a good one. He's a good big league pitcher, and whenever he comes back, he's going to help us.”

For Dobbins, it's the second time he's torn the ACL in his right knee, the last time was in high school while playing football.

“I’ve torn my ACL on this knee before, and it was the same feeling,” Dobbins said. “Kind of some denial went into it, tried to go into the warmup pitch, felt the same sensation again. So at that point, I knew what it was.”

In his place, the Red Sox called up right-hander Richard Fitts from Triple-A Worcester for his fourth stint with the big league club this year.