Holt hits IL after suffering eye injury while playing with son

Brock Holt is on the injured list courtesy of his own flesh and blood.

After a slow start to his season, the Boston Red Sox placed Holt on the 10-day IL on Saturday with a scratched right cornea suffered in bizarre fashion. The utility man said that his son, Griffin, poked him in the eye when the two were playing on Opening Day.

"I went and got Griff up out of bed, was bringing him back to our bed, and one of his fingernails got me good," Holt told reporters on Saturday, according to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald.

Holt acknowledged the unique circumstances that led to his injury, saying "it's not funny, but it is funny," because Griffin's been having fun telling everybody about poking daddy's eye.

Weirdness aside, a scratched cornea can be painful and serious, and Holt's injury has impacted his play. Although an eye doctor examined him in Seattle and he went on to play in six games, the 30-year-old said the injury continues to restrict the vision in his right eye and he can't pick up the spin of the baseball.

"I thought at the time it just poked me in the eye, but the first two days in Seattle were rough," he explained. "I was wearing sunglasses inside. I couldn't open my right eye. ... I put a contact lens in it to protect the scratch. Every time I was blinking, it was rubbing, making my eye water. Couldn't really see out of my right eye."

Holt will consult another ophthalmologist when the Red Sox return to Boston on Monday, per NESN's Guerin Austin.

He's hitting just .063 (1-for-16) with one RBI and seven strikeouts so far this season.

The veteran wasn't the only Red Sox player sidelined on Saturday, as the team also placed pitcher Brian Johnson on the 10-day IL with left elbow inflammation. Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin and pitcher Marcus Walden were recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket in corresponding roster moves.