JD Drew's back injury came as a huge blow to the Boston Red Sox. They are currently in the middle of the Wild Card race, leading the Twins by 2.5 games, and are also trailing the Rays by 3.5 games in the AL East. Drew has been outstanding this year, for the Sox, even though he has cooled off considerably as of late. He's still 3rd in the AL with a .408 OBP, and 6th in OPS, widely considered to be the most important offensive statistic. His average has dipped to .280, but he has 19 HR, 64 RBI, and nearly a 1:1 ratio of walks to strikeouts.

However, Drew is on the DL with a back injury. This isn't the first time he's been hurt. Drew has an extensive history of injuries, and that has always been a concern with him. He has had issues with his wrist, his knee, his quadricep, his ankle, and of course his back. He has averaged less than 120 games per year, since he started playing "full-time" in 1999.

In order to essentially replace Drew, the Sox acquired Mark Kotsay from the Braves in a post-deadline waiver deal. Kotsay is in the middle of a rather average year for him, hitting .289 with 6 HR and 37 RBI in 88 games.

The most puzzling part of this deal is that in replacing their oft-injured right fielder, the Red Sox picked up a guy with an interesting injury history of his own. Kotsay missed time earlier this year, coincidentally with a back injury. This hardly seems like a wise "insurance policy" for the Red Sox while Drew is gone.

However, if Kotsay is able to stay healthy and contribute as expected, Drew's time on the DL probably won't cost the Sox all that much. Drew is certainly a better hitter, but Kotsay is an excellent fielder, and will provide the team with a slight upgrade in that sense.

The pitching should be enough to keep the Sox afloat enough to maintain their lead over the Twins in the Wild Card race, but the loss of Drew, even if only for a short period, puts a serious damper on their chances of catching up to the Rays. Even with injuries to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria, the Rays are playing very well, and are simply winning too many games for the Red Sox to catch up at this point. If the Red Sox are to beat the Rays, it will probably have to be in October.