Red Sox Lose Rich Hill to DL, Recall Mark Melancon

The Red Sox bullpen has been pretty darn good over the past six weeks and now a couple of relievers will flip flop roster spots as Mark Melancon was recalled to take the place of Rich Hill, who is heading to the DL with tightness in his left elbow; the same one he had Tommy John Surgery on last season.

Hill is en route to Florida to have a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews after experiencing some discomfort on Friday when he tried to throw his curveball, according to the Boston Herald.  Hill has been a stud for the Red Sox since making a speedy recovery from TJS, appearing in 17 games amounting to 13.2 innings with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.390 WHIP.  There is no word yet on the seriousness of Hill’s injury but considering the major procedure he went through last year, it’s natural to fear the worst for Hill.

The DL stint for Hill left a vacant seat in the bullpen and Mark Melancon is the one who got the call to pack his bags and make his way to join the big club.

Melancon who was every bit of awful during his first four appearances this year, his first in Boston, was sent to triple-A Pawtucket to figure things out.  And Melancon did exactly that, making 21 appearances while posting a microscopic 0.83 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 21.2 innings and only walking three.

You may recall Melancon is the not so proud owner of a 49.50 ERA, although it is based on an extremely small sample pool.  His last outing in the majors was at Fenway Park when Josh Hamilton hit a home-run against that our generation will likely never see matched.

Melancon appears to be refocused and recharged for this go round with the big league club and given how well the Sox bullpen had been producing, let’s hope Melancon picks right up where Hill left off.