Moves far from done
Farrell needs starter for tomorrow night
One player designated for assignment, two players placed on the disabled list, two more recalled from Triple A, one of those almost immediately returned to Triple A, another sent back to the minors and one more activated after nearly three months dealing with vertigo.
And the Red Sox aren’t nearly finished.
The team’s frantic weekend roster maneuvering will continue for at least two more days, with every facet of the team affected in one way or another.
“We’ve got a number of things that are still (in the works),” manager John Farrell said. “With ( Eduardo Rodriguez)’ situation, with Doug Fister having thrown as many pitches as he did (Saturday) night, we’re probably going to make an adjustment for Tuesday’s start. That’s all to be factored into the many moves ahead of us over the next 24-48 hours.”
Rodriguez will come off the disabled list to start tonight’s series opener at Fenway Park against the Toronto Blue Jays. It will be his first start since hurting his knee June 1.
Tomorrow night was supposed to be Fister’s turn, but he was needed in emergency long relief Saturday, and so that start likely will go to a minor leaguer, either Brian Johnson or Hector Velazquez.
Only after tomorrow night will the Red Sox have a fighting chance to get their roster back to normal.
In the past three days, the team has designated third baseman Pablo Sandoval for assignment, and lost relievers Joe Kelly and Blaine Boyer to hamstring and elbow strains, respectively. Relievers Brandon Workman and Austin Maddox were called up from Triple A to replenish the bullpen, with Maddox sent back last night after Game 2 of the doubleheader with the New York Yankees to open the roster spot for Rodriguez.
Yesterday, the Red Sox also finally activated utility man Brock Holt after he missed nearly three months because of persistent vertigo symptoms.
Holt was technically the 26th man for the doubleheader — he got a big ovation and singled off the bench in the 3-0 loss in the opener, then was in the starting lineup as the third baseman for the 3-0 win in the nightcap — but he will stick with the team.
After Game 2, infielder Tzu-Wei Lin’s impressive and unexpected stint with the Sox came to an end. He was optioned so that Holt remains as the lefty-hitting utility infielder.
“He would certainly get reps at third,” Farrell said, suggesting a platoon between Holt and righty-hitting Deven Marrero.
Lin played both games of the doubleheader, one game at third base and the other at shortstop. In 19 games since coming up from Double A, he hit .280 while making a strong first impression in the big leagues.
Time for protest
After announcing a protest during Saturday night’s 11th inning, the Red Sox made it official by filing their protest with the league office yesterday.
The dispute centers on a sharp ground ball to first base. Yankees baserunner Matt Holliday was forced out at second base on the play, but he quickly ran back to the first base bag — when he was already out — and slid into the base just as the potential double play throw arrived. Holliday left little or no room for first baseman Mitch Moreland to receive the throw, and the batter was ruled safe.
Farrell argued the batter should have been out because of interference, and he went ahead with his protest even though the play resulted in no runs and likely had no impact on the end result of the game.
“I think that’s where it’s important to go through with it,” Farrell said. “If this is called once then maybe it shuts it down. But who’s to say this couldn’t be done many times over?”
Eyeing swift return
Boyer has done a nice job as the Red Sox de facto long reliever this season, but it’s Kelly whose injury seems most problematic to the team’s bullpen.
Having emerged as a go-to setup man, Kelly explained that he began feeling hamstring tightness before the All-Star break but thought he could play through it. When the problem got worse this weekend, he finally spoke up and wound up on the 10day disabled list.
Kelly missed more than two months with a strained hamstring in 2014 while with the St. Louis Cardinals but said this injury is not nearly as significant.
“Not even close,” he said. “In St. Louis, I did mine in a full-blown sprint (while running the bases), stretching for the bag. I couldn’t even walk afterwards. It took a long time to get back, also had a little setback in there. I couldn’t sit on it; I was wheelchaired out to the airplane. This is not even close to that. This is more to be on the safe side and protect the whole body, not try to push it.”