Red Sox starter Brian Johnson moved to IL ahead of London Series
The Boston Red Sox will be without lefty Brian Johnson for the trip to London. He was placed onto the IL retroactive to June 27th.
It was announced earlier today by the Red Sox that southpaw Brian Johnson would be returning to the Injured List retroactive to June 27th. Johnson recently returned from the IL having recovered from an elbow injury. Alex Cora spoke about placing Johnson on the IL and said it was due to a “non-baseball related medical matter.”
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“Out of respect for [Johnson], I’m not going to get into the situation, but he’s OK,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He’s actually in Fenway playing catch and all that stuff. It’s something, we do routine checks on guys and something popped up, so we have to take care of him. But he’ll be fine. He’s actually working out in Fenway and Dr. [Larry] Ronan is overseeing the whole thing, so everything is going to be OK.”
Even though he is technically on the 10-day IL, Johnson’s return will all depend on how he heals from the situation. Without having much more knowledge on what exactly was found on Johnson’s medical it’s hard to predict when he’ll be able to return to the roster. It’s relieving to hear Cora speak on the matter with confidence that Johnson will make a full recovery.
As far as the Red Sox are concerned they’re once again without a fifth-day starter. Johnson was slated to fill that role left empty by the injured Nathan Eovaldi. With Johnson now back on the shelf and no ETA for Eovaldi, the Sox will be playing musical starters once again. But in the grand scheme of life, it’s far more important to get these guys healthy rather than rush them back to the field.
To fill the vacant roster spot the Red Sox reactivated Hector Velazquez from the IL and he made his return to action today against the Yankees in London. Velaquez was thrown into the shootout with the Yankees this afternoon and went for 2IP with 3K’s. A hell of a return to action for the fire throwing right-hander.
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The Red Sox have a lot of ground to make up as they find themselves 10-games back in the AL East standings after today’s tilt with New York. If they can start to get some of these players back from the IL they’ll have a strong chance at mounting a comeback in the second half. Everyone at BoSox Injection wishes Brian Johnson a speedy recovery so he can play a big part in that comeback.