The Boston Red Sox’s in-flux roster experienced another reshuffling Monday morning.
The Red Sox placed left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez on the paternity leave list after his wife gave birth to a baby boy. The club recalled right-hander Ben Taylor from Triple-A Pawtucket in a corresponding move before Monday’s Patriots’ Day game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Rodriguez was scheduled to start Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, so his absence leaves a hole in Boston’s rotation. It appears Brian Johnson will get the chance to fill that hole, as manager John Farrell said the right-hander, currently with Triple-A Pawtucket, is in line to start Tuesday in Toronto.
“The strike-throwing has been good,” Farrell said of Johnson on Monday, via MassLive.com. “The percentage of strikes has been much improved. Sharpens to the secondary stuff is there. The velocity is probably not to where it was two springs ago, but improved over a year ago. … “(We’re) looking forward to the opportunity for him (Tuesday).”
Johnson has just one major league start under his belt, a 4 1/3-inning appearance against the Houston Astros in July 2015. The 26-year-old has endured a lot while with the Red Sox’s organization, taking a leave of absence to seek anxiety treatment in May 2016 and taking a line drive to the head earlier this spring. But Johnson returned to make a strong start for the PawSox last Thursday and has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts through two starts for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate.
