The bullpen has been a strength of the Red Sox so far this season, which makes it easy to forget about the reliever that has yet to make an appearance for Boston.
The Red Sox signed Joely RodrÃguez in the offseason to be part of the bullpen mix, but the lefty has yet to pitch in the big leagues this season due to an oblique strain that landed him on the injured list. But there are promising signs that the 31-year-old's debut with the Red Sox could be on the horizon.
RodrÃguez had his first rehab assignment with Triple A-Worcester on Thursday night and turned in a solid outing. RodrÃguez worked around one hit to pitch a scoreless inning of relief. He threw eight of his 11 pitches for strikes and ended up getting the win against the Buffalo Bisons.
It's certainly a step in the right direction for RodrÃguez, who made 55 appearances with the New York Mets a season ago and posted a 2-4 record to go along with a 4.47 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings pitched.
The Red Sox currently have two left-handed pitchers in the bullpen in Richard Bleier and Brennan Bernardino, who the Red Sox claimed off waivers just last month. Bernardino has performed well with the Red Sox but he may be just holding RodrÃguez's spot until he is ready. Boston's bullpen isn't at 100%, though, with Kenley Jansen working his way back from an ailment and Kutter Crawford suffering hamstring tightness late in Wednesday's win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
There's no clear timeline yet for when RodrÃguez could possibly join the Red Sox but it seems like at a least a couple more rehab appearances are on tap for RodrÃguez before he gets the call up.
