Alex Wilson Called Up To Red Sox As Lackey Heads To 15-Day DL

Shortly after manager John Farrell announced that Alfredo Aceves would be making a spot start tomorrow, we’ve learned that Aceves may be making a few more. John Lackey, who suffered a bicep strain and had to leave the game in Saturday’s loss to the Blue Jays, is heading to the 15-day disabled list. Aceves will be taking his spot in the rotation and coming up from the minors to take Lackey’s spot on the 25-man roster is Alex Wilson, who has had plenty of success since joining the bullpen in Pawtucket last year.

Mar 8, 2012; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Alex Wilson (63) pitches during the game against the Minnesota Twins at JetBlue Park. The Twins shut out the Red Sox 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson has gotten into two Triple-A games this year, and has only a 10.12 ERA in 2.2 innings. However, he was quite effective at the same level as a 25 year old in 2012 where he posted a 3.72 ERA and struck out 9.66 batters per nine innings through 40 games (3 starts) and 72.2 innings pitched. Although he did have some problems with walks, his high strikeout rate at least somewhat made up for that and his lackluster .270 opponents’ batting average.

Alex Wilson will likely only pitch in mop-up roles, much like Clayton Mortensen has this year, in his time in the bullpen. He will probably be sent down when Lackey returns, but Wilson has potential to fit into the archetype of a Mortensen or Junichi Tazawa from last year who spends about equal time in MLB and Triple-A. Hopefully he’ll pitch well and Lackey will recover quickly to keep this early-season hot streak going.