The Boston Red Sox losing a series to the Washington Nationals wasn't the club's only lowlight on Thursday.
While the Red Sox fell 10-7 in the series finale, their 2022 first-round draft pick went down with an injury while playing at High-A Greenville. Nineteen-year-old shortstop Mikey Romero was forced to exit Thursday's game due to a lower back issue.
You can watch the play in which he sustained the injury on below:
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According to WEEI's Rob Bradford, it's the same lower back injury that caused Romero to miss time earlier this season. There is no timetable for his return.
Romero's injury came in his third game since being promoted from Low-A Salem to High-A Greenville. The 24th overall pick hit .217 with a .592 OPS in his 23 games played with Salem this year.
He isn't the only first-round shortstop in the Red Sox organization out due to injury. Marcelo Mayer, the No. 4 pick in the 2021 draft, has been sidelined since Aug. 2 with left shoulder inflammation. Fortunately, he is expected to return for Double-A Portland within the next week or so.
Boston Red Sox
Romero and Mayer are key pieces to the revamped farm system that has been assembled since chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's arrival in late 2019. Both are big reasons why the Red Sox have the fifth-best farm system in the league, per Baseball America.