The Boston Red Sox placed utility man Brock Holt and left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson on the 10-day Injured List on Saturday.
As if this dismal start to the season weren’t bad enough already, now the injuries are starting to roll in for the Boston Red Sox.
The team placed Swiss army knife Brock Holt on the 10-day Injured List with a scratched cornea to his right eye. Left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson will join him on the IL with elbow inflammation.
Prior to tonight's game in Phoenix, the #RedSox announced the following roster moves. pic.twitter.com/N8rRi1jAUh
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 6, 2019
Boston will miss Holt’s versatility and their infield depth is a bit thin with Dustin Pedroia‘s uncertain timeline leaving a question mark hovering over second base. Holt had been sharing that responsibility with Eduardo Nunez, who now will be tasked with more of the workload. Nunez has struggled at the plate with only 4 hits in his first 24 at-bats (.167) and his glove work at second base became enough of a liability last year that the team was forced to trade for Ian Kinsler. How long can they get by this time with Nunez locked into the position?
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Infielder Tzu-Wei Lin has been called up from Pawtucket and should be given an opportunity while Holt is sidelined. If nothing else, he provides better defense than Nunez. Lin hasn’t impressed with the bat in his previous stints in the majors but he hit .307 in Triple-A last season. They have little to lose by seeing what Lin can do with regular playing time if Nunez doesn’t start hitting.
Losing Johnson leaves the Red Sox scrambling even more. There was talk of giving the lefty a start on Sunday so that Chris Sale could get some extra rest and be available to pitch the home opener at Fenway Park on Tuesday. With Johnson no longer an option, Hector Velazquez could take that spot or they could turn it into a bullpen game. Given how quickly the Red Sox starters are getting knocked out of games this season, hasn’t every game been a bullpen game anyway?
We last saw Johnson being obliterated by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday for seven earned runs over 1 1/3 innings. A sore elbow may explain that disaster, although Rick Porcello isn’t using the same excuse for allowing the Diamondbacks to hang an unlucky seven on him.
The Red Sox can stash Johnson on IL while he recovers physically and mentally from that beating in the desert. He’ll be replaced by a fresh arm in the bullpen with Marcus Walden getting the call from Pawtucket. The right-hander had a modest amount of success in a brief stint last year, posting a 3.68 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.
The absence of Johnson leaves the Red Sox without a lefty in the bullpen. They have right-handers capable of getting lefties out and manager Alex Cora hasn’t leaned much on lefty specialists. It’s still unusual for a team to go long without a southpaw in the bullpen though and you wonder when Bobby Poyner may get another chance.
Boston has two games left in Arizona to wrap up this hellish road trip before they finally return home next week. If a couple of hungry young call ups from Triple-A can give the Red Sox a spark then perhaps they can salvage what’s left of this series.