The Red Sox finalized their bullpen hours before they open their 2023 Major League Baseball season.
After Joely RodrÃguez suffered an oblique injury in spring training, a spot in Boston's 'pen opened. And it appears it will go to Kaleb Ort, MLB.com's Ian Browne reported Thursday morning.
Ort struggled mightily in spring training, posting an 0-1 record with a 9.58 ERA across nine games. The righty pitched in 10 1/3 innings with nine strikeouts and a 2.42 WHIP.
The Red Sox already are dealing with various injuries to their pitchers. Garrett Whitlock, who's starting Opening Day for the Worcester Red Sox on Friday, James Paxton, Brayan Bello and Wyatt Mills all are facing ailments that will keep them off the Opening Day roster.
Ort appeared in 25 games for the Red Sox in 2022 and posted a 6.35 ERA and gave up 20 earned runs.
It's unclear how manager Alex Cora plans to utilize Ort, or how long he'll be with the Red Sox as they begin to get healthy. But it's a chance for Ort to try to turn things around while he has the opportunity.
Boston opens its season Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park. First pitch is set for 2:10 p.m. ET, and you can catch all the action beginning at 12:30 p.m. on NESN.
