Single-A Salem placed Cespedes on the 7-day injured list Wednesday with a broken hamate bone in his left hand that will likely require surgery, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
Cespedes was recently promoted from the rookie-level Florida Complex League to Salem but experienced soreness in the hand before he could make his debut for the full-season affiliate. The issue lingered, and testing revealed the hamate fracture. If Cespedes opts for surgery, he could be at risk of missing the rest of the season. Recovery from hamate bone surgery typically requires 6-to-8 weeks, and Salem's season ends the first week of September. He had been one of the standout performers in the organization this season, raising his profile significantly.