Steven Wright is back.
The Red Sox added the knuckleballer to their active major league roster before Monday night’s game against the Oakland Athletics. To make room, Boston placed right-hander Hector Velazquez on the 10-day disabled list with a low back strain.
Wright began the season on the 10-day DL while recovering from left knee surgery he underwent last May. He was reinstated from the DL on April 28 but placed on the restricted list for 15 games by Major League Baseball, which suspended the 33-year-old for violating the league’s Domestic Violence Policy.
Wright went 1-3 with an 8.25 ERA in five starts last season before going down for the year. He went 13-6 with a 3.33 ERA in 24 starts in 2016, a season in which he earned an All-Star nod.
Velazquez is 5-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 10 appearances (two starts) spanning 25 2/3 innings with Boston this season. He earned his fifth victory Sunday, tossing two scoreless innings of relief in the Red Sox’s 5-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Wright is out of minor league options, so the Red Sox needed to add him to their active roster or else they would have risked losing him for nothing by designating him for assignment.
