Red Sox infield prospect Henry Godbout recently underwent surgery to repair a broken left hand, according to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
Godbout suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch in the ninth inning of High-A Greenville’s 10-8 loss to Asheville at Fluor Field on May 30. The 22-year-old was placed on the 7-day injured list on June 2 and, after undergoing surgery, appears likely to be transferred to the 60-day injured list, according to a team source.
Such a move would sideline Godbout for much of the summer, putting a damper on his first full professional season. The right-handed hitter was batting .277/.410/.492 with seven doubles, seven home runs, 14 RBIs, 21 runs scored, two stolen bases, 22 walks, and 27 strikeouts in 34 games (161 plate appearances) for Greenville this year. He posted a .231/.344/.615 line against lefties and a .288/.426/.462 line against righties.
Among 85 qualified South Atlantic League hitters entering play this week, Godbout ranks third in swinging-strike rate (6.6%), ninth in on-base percentage and strikeout rate (16.8%), 15th in wOBA (.410), 16th in OPS (.902) and wRC+ (135), 19th in slugging percentage, 23rd in batting average, and 25th in isolated power (.215) and walk rate (13.7%), per FanGraphs.
Defensively, Godbout was used almost exclusively at shortstop by Greenville to begin the season. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder made a team-leading 27 starts and logged 240 innings at short for the Drive, committing seven errors in 110 chances. He also made seven starts at DH.
Godbout was selected by the Red Sox out of Virginia with the 75th overall pick in the 2025 draft, which the club had received as compensation for losing qualified free agent Nick Pivetta to the Padres the previous winter. The New York native received a $1.0938 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut at Greenville last August, slashing .341/.473/.477 with no home runs and five RBIs in a limited sample of 13 games sandwiched around a hamstring injury.
After working with the Red Sox’ player development staff to add bat speed and power over the winter, Godbout impressed evaluators with his quick swing in spring training. He entered the season ranked as Boston’s No. 10 prospect by Baseball America, but has since moved up to the No. 7 spot. Among position players in the organization, only Franklin Arias (No. 1) and Justin Gonzales (No. 4) rank higher.
Godbout, who does not turn 23 until November, faces a somewhat lengthy road back from surgery. Assuming all goes well in his recovery, he should have an opportunity to end the season on a high note and perhaps even earn a promotion to Double-A Portland once he is cleared to return to action.
(Picture of Henry Godbout: Gwinn Davis/Greenville Drive)
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