Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Option Struggling Young Hurler, Call Up Veteran For Second Stint

Boston needs to keep the bullpen fresh due to lackluster starting pitching

Scott Neville

Red Sox Option Struggling Young Hurler, Call Up Veteran For Second Stint
Red Sox Option Struggling Young Hurler, Call Up Veteran For Second Stint /
In this story:

The Boston Red Sox's starting rotation has been putrid all season long and continues to put stress on the bullpen.

With that in mind, the Red Sox have had to shuffle through arms just to survive, and that trend has not let up.

"The Red Sox today recalled right-handed pitcher Kyle Barraclough from Triple-A Worcester," MLB.com's Ian Browne tweeted Monday. "To make room on the active roster, the club optioned left-handed pitcher Chris Murphy to Worcester following yesterday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers."

With Brennan Bernardino on the COVID-19-related injured list, Boston does not have a left-hander in the bullpen.

After a strong start to his Major League Baseball career, Murphy has had a dramatic fall from grace. The 25-year-old posted a 1.59 ERA through his first nine games, tallying 28 1/3 innings in that span. Unfortunately, he's posted a 10.67 ERA since then, across 14 1/3 innings. 

Murphy's most important attribute right now is the ability to eat innings as the rotation cannot seem to do so. He'll likely be up and down all season regardless of production for that reason.

Barraclough allowed one earned run in 3 1/3 innings across two appearances in his first stint with Boston earlier in the month. He's been a reliable weapon for the WooSox, since joining the organization in June.

The 33-year-old is 8-0 with a 2.43 ERA, 41-to-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .175 batting average against and 0.99 WHIP in 55 2/3 innings this season. Like Murphy, Barraclough will provide the ability to go multiple innings out of the bullpen if needed.

The Red Sox also called up their No. 3 prospect, outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela as well as middle infielder David Hamilton. Boston placed Wilyer Abreu on paternity leave and Pablo Reyes (elbow) on the injured list.

More MLB: Highly-Touted Red Sox Prospect Launches 20th Home Run With MLB Call-Up Due Soon

Published
Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

Home/Boston Red Sox News