It appears Drew Pomeranz’s heavy innings workload finally is catching up to him.
The Boston Red Sox left-hander has been scratched from his scheduled start Thursday due to forearm soreness, manager John Farrell announced Tuesday. Additionally, Farrell said any future appearances from Pomeranz this season will be out of the bullpen.
“He’s came out of his last start a little more sore,” Farrell said, via WEEI.com. “There’s been additional need for recovery time. The total number of innings pitched. There’s been a combination of factors. He is not shut down, but he is not starting Thursday. We need to get him on a mound hopefully by the end of the week to determine a bullpen role going forward.”
Left-hander Henry Owens is set to start in Pomeranz’s place Thursday against the New York Yankees.
Pomeranz already has pitched 169 1/3 innings this season, his first campaign as a regular starter. It’s the first time in the 27-year-old’s career he’s thrown 100-plus innings in a season, as his previous career high was 96 2/3 innings with the Colorado Rockies in 2012.
The six-year veteran pitched well in his last outing against the Tampa Bay Rays, but he’s had an up-and-down tenure in Boston since the club acquired him from the San Diego Padres at Major League Baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline. Pomeranz has a 3-5 record and a 4.68 ERA in 13 starts with the Red Sox and has pitched six innings or fewer in 11 of those outings.
Boston already has clinched a playoff berth and is one game away from clinching the American League East, so it can afford to give Pomeranz a breather over the final six games. But it looks like the 2016 All-Star will play no more than a complimentary role for the Sox in October.
Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
