What, you didn’t think we were done talking about pitcher injuries, did you? In 2024, baseball is not won on the field, but rather on the table of an orthopedic surgeon. Brennan Bernardino is the most recent victim, as he will likely be sidelined for the entire season due to severe inflammation in his elbow and placed on the injured list. Wormtown native Cam Booser will travel to replace him. Boston Herald, Mac Cerullo

Liam Hendriks, sadly, won’t be available to support the bullpen. As the righty continues to recuperate from Tommy John surgery, he noticed some elbow discomfort. His chances of pitching in the major leagues this season are now slim. (Boston Globe, Julian McWilliams)

Isn’t that what makes Nick Pivetta so beautiful? You may not know what he’s going to offer you on the mound from one game to the next, but you darn well know that he’s going to be on the mound. Furthermore, he proved one more last night that he is a reliable big game pitcher for the Red Sox. (Boston Globe, Alex Speier)

Though they’re both Canadian, Tyler O’Neill is very much the antithesis of Pivetta when it comes to health and reliability. But, like Pivetta, he’s also turning it on down the stretch. He smacked a walk-off home run over the monster last night, and to date, he has popped eight of his previous fourteen hits out of the yard. (MassLive, Christopher Smith)

Regretfully, Triston Casas has not performed well in the final stretch as he battles to recapture his hitting stroke following a protracted rib cage injury. But Triston claims that, like a butterfly, he’s ready to embrace the next stage of his hitting life (truly). (NESN’s Greg Dudek)

However, James Paxton is about to embark on a new chapter in his real life. His retirement has been declared. (Boston Globe, Jon Couture)

The Red Sox are “very close” to ending their season with an all-star reliever.

Boston — After making appearances for the Boston Red Sox’s Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester teams, Liam Hendriks halted his rehabilitation in the last few days.

Though there isn’t much time left in the season for the three-time All-Star to take the mound, he still plans to do so in his debut season with the Red Sox. Alex Cora is aware that Boston is “very close” to keeping Hendriks out of the field for the remainder of 2024 and that the calendar might be the biggest impediment standing in his way of getting back on the mound.

“As you know, we’re running out of time,” Cora said on Wednesday to reporters at Fenway Park. “We need to decide what action we will take. Though unexpected, it was a necessary step in the procedure. That kind of crisis would inevitably arise.”

Hendriks signed with Boston in the offseason with the intention of making his Red Sox debut after undergoing Tommy John surgery late in the previous year. In his 13 MLB seasons, he has amassed 116 saves and a lifetime ERA of 3.82. With just 17 games left, the Red Sox are four games out of the last American League postseason place, meaning there won’t be much time for Boston to see Hendriks play.