The Boston Red Sox have gotten mostly short outings from their starting pitchers and have played more extra-inning games than any other team in the league. They've needed to get quite a bit of mileage out of their bullpen early in the year.
Justin Slaten has been out of commission since he went on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, retroactive to May 29. His recovery is not progressing as Boston had hoped at this point. Red Sox manager Alex Cora on June 10 told reporters that Slaten is progressing "slower than we expected," per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.
Slaten is still not throwing, which means he's still a ways from returning to Boston's bullpen, which has struggled without him. The righty has posted a 3.47 ERA with 16 strikeouts and seven walks over 23.1 innings. He was just starting to get hot before his shoulder started acting up, and he hasn't allowed a run in his last 10 appearances.
Red Sox update on rehabbing pitchers Justin Slaten and Chris Murphy
Luckily for the Red Sox, they also got some positive bullpen news on June 10. Chris Murphy has been sent to Triple-A Worcester on his rehab assignment. The lefty underwent Tommy John surgery before the 2024 season, and his arrival in Worcester signifies an impending return to the big leagues.
Murphy debuted for the Red Sox in 2023, with a 4.91 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 17 walks over 47.2 innings across 20 appearances. He's made five rehab appearances in his stint so far, two with High-A Greenville and three with Double-A Portland, and he's clocked a 1.42 ERA with seven strikeouts over 6.1 innings. He let up his first and only run on June 8 in his first two-inning appearance.
Wilyer Abreu may only need minimum IL stint before returning to Red Sox outfield
Cora also issued a positive update on Wilyer Abreu. The Red Sox placed the outfielder on the 10-day IL on June 9 with oblique soreness. Cora said Boston expects him to need only the minimum stint on the IL, which means he could be back in the lineup as soon as mid-June.
Abreu's return will force the Red Sox to examine their outfield logjam sooner than they could've expected. Boston called up top prospect Roman Anthony to fill Abreu's roster spot, and there's no way it can get away with sending him back down to Triple-A when Abreu is healthy.
The answer isn't as easy as moving Ceddanne Rafaela back to the middle infield — not only is he one of the best, if not the best, defensive outfielders in the American League, the middle infield is also crowded with Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, Kristian Campbell and David Hamilton. Abreu, Jarren Duran and Rob Refsnyder are all intriguing trade candidates, and it'll be interesting if the Red Sox need to move one of them to keep Anthony in the big leagues.