Before their afternoon tilt with the Toronto Blue Jays on June 28, the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves regarding their bullpen, including the activation of a long-absent lefty.
Chris Murphy has been activated from the 60-day injured list, first reported by Christopher Smith of MassLive. Murphy underwent Tommy John surgery early in the 2024 season, before he saw any action in the big leagues that year.
Murphy, 27, began his rehab assignment on May 27 with High-A Greenville and moved up through three levels of the farm system before his activation. He posted a 4.91 ERA with 17 strikeouts and nine walks over 14.2 innings between High-A and Triple-A.
Murphy last appeared in the big leagues in 2023, his rookie season. He clocked a 4.91 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 17 walks over 47.2 innings. His stats don't jump off the page, but Boston's bullpen needs all the help it can get as the offense has gone to sleep. The Rafael Devers-less Red Sox are the worst offensive team in the league since the team traded him on June 15, and if they're to win any games, the bullpen will need to hold onto tight leads.
Red Sox activate reliever Chris Murphy, move Luis Guerrero to the IL, Justin Slaten to the 60-day IL
The #RedSox today announced the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/SucQwcMWOk
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 28, 2025
Unfortunately, the Red Sox also lost some bullpen arms to the IL on June 28. Reliever Luis Guerrero has been added to the 15-day IL and Justin Slaten has been moved to the 60-day IL.
Guerrero is battling an elbow strain, per a release from the Red Sox. He isn't scheduled for an MRI. His ailment may have shown in his recent work — Guerrero has pitched to a 4.15 ERA with 14 walks over 17.1 innings, and he's allowed seven runs on six hits in his last 7.2 innings of work. Murphy's activation makes the loss of Guerrero seem a bit more palatable, but the Red Sox will need as much bullpen depth as possible to maintain their already loose standing in the Wild Card chase as the trade deadline nears.
Slaten has been on the IL since May 29 with shoulder inflammation, and his move to the 60-day IL will delay his timeline by another month. He'd been one of the most reliable arms in the Sox's bullpen before his injury, with a 3.47 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 16 strikeouts and seven walks over 23.1 frames.
Slaten's activation is expected to occur around the time of the trade deadline, provided his recovery progresses well. Hopefully, the Red Sox can hold on and win enough games to be in a position to buy at that time, but things aren't looking great for their offense lately.