The Boston Red Sox’s pitching problems fall more on the side of the starting rotation, but they certainly won’t be mad at the news that they could soon add back another arm to their bullpen.
Chris Martin, who has been out since April 13 with right shoulder inflammation, is on track to be activated from the injured list Sunday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Friday, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.
“He got sick during the week, that’s why we had to push him back,” Cora said, per Smith. “But I saw him yesterday, he feels good and so he’s ready to go today. And hopefully, everything goes well, he feels fine and we’ll give him one day and be back on Sunday.”
Martin’s presence in the bullpen is one that has been noticeable through the early portion of the season. He allowed two runs in seven innings over seven relief outings for Boston before getting injured, good for a 2.57 ERA. The 36-year-old was used at the set-up man to Kenley Jansen in the eighth inning, providing some stability in the back end of the bullpen.
In his absence, the Red Sox have been forced to cobble things together. Josh Winckowski and Kutter Crawford have been superb in long relief roles, and Jansen has been absolutely perfect as closer. It’s just been a bit more dicey outside of that. John Schreiber has been fine, but far from his dominant 2022 form, and everyone else has had their fair share of struggles. Kaleb Ort, Ryan Brasier and Richard Bleier have not been very good.
In Martin, the Red Sox have some consistency back in the bullpen. At this point, that’s a blessing.
