BOSTON — Another young hurler will join the Red Sox’s pitching staff this week.
Right-hander Matt Barnes has been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to the 40-man roster for the first time in his career, the team announced Monday. Barnes will wear No. 68 and will be available Monday night as the Red Sox begin a series with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Red Sox placed outfielder Shane Victorino on the 60-day disabled list to make roster room for Barnes.
The University of Connecticut product and Bethel, Conn., native appeared in 23 games (22 starts) for the PawSox this season, posting an 8-9 record with a 3.95 ERA and 103 strikeouts. The vast majority of Barnes’ professional experience has been as a starter, but Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters Monday that the team plans to use him as a multi-inning reliever.
“As effective as he’s been, and the progress he’s made throughout the course of the season, we felt like exposure in September would be beneficial for him,” Farrell said. “He was to have been protected this offseason, so selecting him now wasn’t that much of an issue from a roster standpoint.”
Barnes, a first-round draft pick in 2011, was hampered by a shoulder injury in spring training and struggled early in the season, but he has been one of the top arms in Triple-A since the All-Star break. The 24-year-old has allowed two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts, leading all International League starters with a 0.87 WHIP and .167 opponent batting average over that span.
“As the year went along, he gained not only overall strength, but the effectiveness, particularly the use of his three-pitch mix,” Farrell said. “Meeting with him earlier, he was very clear on not only the development of his breaking ball over the past year-plus, but now how he’s applied both his secondary pitches in attacking both lefties and righties. He’s always had swing-and-miss to his fastball, and it’s been a very strong year for him, particularly how he’s finished up.”
Barnes was scheduled to make one more start for the PawSox, who will take on the Durham Bulls in the Governors’ Cup Finals beginning Tuesday.
Photo via Twitter/@SoxNH
