Red Sox Reliever Not Progressing Well From Injury Recovery

Things aren’t going well on the diamond for the Boston Red Sox as they have lost five out of their last six games, including a lopsided 10-3 defeat Thursday night to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.

And the Red Sox aren’t getting good news off the field, either, when it comes to one of their relievers recovering from injury.

Richard Bleier was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 22 with left shoulder inflammation, meaning he should be getting ready to come off the IL any day now. Except Red Sox manager Alex Cora explained that isn’t the case for Bleier.

“Just kind of not recovering the way we expected him,” Cora told reporters prior to losing to the Guardians in the series finale, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “He started playing catch and kind of didn’t feel great. So I think as far as the treatment and all that, we have to make some adjustments and hopefully he can bounce back from it.”

The 36-year-old veteran reliever isn’t a difference-maker out of Boston’s bullpen, but the Red Sox certainly could use healthy arms at the moment. Bleier has made 19 appearances and compiled a 1-0 record to go along with a 5.85 ERA and a 1.350 WHIP in his first season with the Red Sox.

Boston currently only has one left-hander in the bullpen with Bleier injured as well as Joely Rodríguez on the injured list. That distinction belongs to Brennan Bernardino, who the Red Sox claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners earlier this season.