Red Sox make moves to bolster bullpen

The initial reaction by the Boston Red Sox to losing a starting pitcher is to bolster their bullpen.

An overworked Boston Red Sox bullpen that has tossed the second most innings in the league this season is about to get some reinforcements.

Adding resources to their weary group of relievers became a priority in the wake of Tuesday night’s extra-innings loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, when Boston’s bullpen combined for 9.1 innings of work after starter Joe Kelly departed with a shoulder injury with two outs in the first inning.

With Kelly heading to the disabled list, right-handed reliever Noe Ramirez has been recalled to take his place on the roster. The move comes one day after Ramirez had been demoted to Pawtucket following a rocky start to the season that saw him surrender a run in four of his six appearances. It’s safe to say that Ramirez didn’t have quite enough time to work out the issues that sent him back to the minors during his brief visit to Pawtucket, which doesn’t instill much confidence for using him in tight situations.

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Heath Hembree was thrown straight into the fire after getting the call-up on Tuesday to replace Ramirez, as he was summoned from the bullpen to take over for Kelly with two runners on in the first inning. Not only did he escape the jam Kelly created, he went on to dazzle the Rays lineup for 3.1 scoreless innings.

There was some concern that a Red Sox team desperate for fresh arms would reward his heroic effort with a demotion to Pawtucket after he threw 45 pitches in the outing, but apparently not. Despite that he won’t be available for at least a couple days, Hembree is sticking around.

The Red Sox won’t need to decide on a spot starter to fill in for Kelly until the weekend, which allows them to use his roster spot to add Ramirez to the bullpen, while still keeping Hembree around.

In addition to adding Ramirez, the team also optioned infielder Marco Hernandez and brought up right-handed pitcher William Cuevas, who was a starter in the minors and will likely serve in long relief for the Red Sox. Given how frequently the team’s starters have failed to go deep into games, it’s not a bad idea to have another reliever that can go multiple innings.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Cuevas, the team designated left-handed pitcher Edwin Escobar for assignment. The 23-year old had tossed 7 innings without surrendering an earned run for Pawtucket this year, but posted an underwhelming 5.07 ERA for the PawSox in 2015.

While Cuevas was off to a dreadful start at the Triple-A level, owning a 6.17 ERA through two starts, the Red Sox clearly like his upside more than Escobar’s. Or they at least think Cuevas is better suited for this long relief role, otherwise they would have simply called up Escobar instead of sacrificing him.

Next: How long will Kelly be out?

One of these relievers will have to go once Kelly’s turn in the rotation comes up again on Sunday, but in the meantime manager John Farrell will be grateful to have the added support in the bullpen.