Red Sox pitcher Michael Wacha was placed on the injured list on Friday because of shoulder inflammation. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
BOSTON — The Red Sox made an expected roster move before Friday’s game, placing starter Michael Wacha on the injured list and recalling starter Connor Seabold from Triple-A Worcester. Seabold to start Friday night against the Yankees.
Wacha is dealing with right shoulder inflammation, according to the team, and his IL stint was backdated to July 5. He’ll be eligible to return July 22, which is the Sox’ first game after the All-Star break. Manager Alex Cora thinks he might be back then.
“Hopefully, sooner rather than later,” Cora said. “Just the smart thing to do, especially with where we’re at in the schedule with the All-Star break and all that stuff. I don’t want to put a timetable or whatever but the hope is that he’ll be with us soon.”
Wacha last pitched June 28 in Toronto, allowing four runs on seven hits in five innings. He was then scratched from his scheduled start Monday against the Rays because of a “heavy” feeling in his arm, but was on track to pitch Friday. Wacha threw a bullpen session Wednesday but didn’t bounce back as expected from it on Thursday. He received an MRI and other testing; those tests showed no structural damage.
The loss of Wacha is the latest setback for a Red Sox rotation that has been decimated by injuries. Nate Eovaldi, Garrett Whitlock and Rich Hill are all out and Chris Sale and James Paxton have yet to make their 2022 debuts. Sale is scheduled to pitch Tuesday and Eovaldi is not far off, either; Whitlock will be a reliever when he returns to the club. Eovaldi and Whitlock are both pitching in rehab outings for Worcester this weekend. The Red Sox currently have nine pitchers on the injured list.
Seabold made two starts last week, pitching to an 8.31 ERA in 8 2/3 combined innings against the Blue Jays and Cubs. He pitched better in his last outing, holding Chicago to one earned run in four innings in Sunday’s win.
BRAYAN BELLO’S stay in the Red Sox rotation will extend at least a few more days.
Bello is still with the Red Sox after making his major league debut Wednesday night against the Rays and will likely pitch Monday against the Rays at Tropicana Field, Cora said Thursday. Bello is lined up to pitch on regular rest for the opener of a four-game set between the Sox and Rays.
With Wacha dealing with a “heavy arm,” the Red Sox have had to shuffle their rotation in recent days. Josh Winckowski started Thursday night against the Yankees, Seabold started Friday and Boston has not yet listed a starter for Saturday. Kutter Crawford is a candidate.
Nick Pivetta is in line to pitch Sunday night’s series finale in primetime.
The Red Sox plan to keep Bello as a starter, even if that means he’ll need to go back down to Worcester once Wacha, Sale, Eovaldi and Hill return from the injured list. While his electric arsenal would give him a chance to be dominant in the bullpen, the Sox have no plans to make him a reliever in the near term.
“This guy’s as exciting a starting pitching prospect as we’ve had in a long time,” Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom said on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show. “I don’t think you want to take one of those guys and turn him into a reliever unless you absolutely have to. Obviously, down the stretch, the end of the season, when it’s all-hands-on-deck, you do what you need to do, but just over the long haul of the summer, no.”
Pitching Monday would mean Bello will face the Rays for the second time in less than a week. Making his first two starts against the same team isn’t ideal, but it’s out of Boston’s control.
“That’s the way the schedule works,” Cora said. “Somebody has to do it. It’s him.”
Despite Bello’s struggles on Wednesday (he allowed four runs on six hits and walked three batters in four innings), Cora walked away from the righty’s debut somewhat encouraged.
“I think, yesterday, if you look at the whole thing, the changeup wasn’t great, the sinker was good, two ground balls up the middle that went through and the pitch up in the zone (Randy) Arozarena hit, that was it,” Cora said. “He showed composure. The stuff was there. At one point in his career, he’s going to have to do that. So he’ll be ready for that one.”
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