In addition to placing Tyler O’Neill on the injured list and replacing him with second baseman Enmanuel Valdez on Wednesday, the Red Sox made the expected move to bring Chris Martin back into their bullpen mix.
Martin was activated and left-hander Cam Booser was optioned back to Triple-A Worcester before Boston’s series finale at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals. Martin, who has missed 26 games due to elbow inflammation, will be available after fast-tracking his return and skipping a rehab assignment to rejoin the bullpen.
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Martin has been limited to just 26 innings (26⅓ innings) so far this season due to various health issues. A nagging left shoulder injury limited his availability early before anxiety-related symptoms kept him on the IL from June 2-18. His most recent issue with the elbow popped up around the Fourth of July and has kept him out for more than a month. Now, he’ll once again be an important part of a new-look end of the bullpen that has Lucas Sims and Luis García joining Zack Kelly and Brennan Bernardino ahead of closer Kenley Jansen.
Martin has a 3.42 ERA so far this season while allowing 25 hits (4 homers) and striking out 29 batters. Booser has had a solid rookie year, posting a 2.77 ERA while striking out 38 batters in 39 innings. Since rejoining the team on July 5 after a stint in the minors, Booser owns a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings over 12 outings. He was simply the odd man out with manager Alex Cora wanting to keep Kelly and multi-inning relievers Josh Winckowski and Cooper Criswell on the roster.
“Tough one, of course, but where we’re at roster-wise, it makes sense right now,” Cora said in Kansas City. “Boos is going to be part of this. They’re all going to be part of this. But Chris is ready to go today.”
For now, Bernardino will be the only lefty in Boston’s eight-man bullpen. That could change in the coming days with other moves likely on the horizon. The Red Sox will have to further shuffle their bullpen in a few weeks when Justin Slaten and, eventually, Liam Hendriks, return from the IL.
Booser pitched in each of the last three games, rendering him unavailable for Wednesday.
“Obviously, with (the Royals), they have a lot of lefties but Boos was going to be down anyways,” Cora said. “We just have to mix and match. We’ve got Houston. They’ve got the big boy (Yordan Alvarez) and he hits lefties and righties. We’ll see what happens. But those three guys (Bailey Horn, Bernardino and Booser), they’re part of this. It’s just that where we are right now roster-wise, this makes sense.”
