Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly to undergo elbow surgery

Red Sox reliever Zack Kelly will require elbow surgery, manager Alex Cora announced to reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) prior to Wednesday’s 10-4 loss to the Twins at Fenway Park.

Kelly will undergo an “ulnar nerve transposition revision” on a date that is still to be determined, according to the team. The right-hander’s UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) and internal brace are still intact.

After injuring his right elbow in last Wednesday’s loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field, Kelly underwent further imaging in Boston on Friday. The 28-year-old’s MRI came back clean, but the Red Sox still sent the results to the physician who performed his internal bracing procedure in May 2020 in order to get a second opinion.

Additionally, Kelly visited an orthopedic surgeon in Alabama in recent days. The result of that visit was the “best case scenario,” per Cotillo.

“The ulnar nerve wasn’t damaged but it’s not attached to whatever it has to be,” Cora said of Kelly. “He’s going to have surgery. We have to wait on when. As far as surgeries, the doctor is backtracked with all that stuff so we have to wait. But he’ll be out for a while.”

Because he underwent an internal bracing procedure on his right elbow in lieu of Tommy John surgery nearly three years ago, Kelly has dealt with this sort of issue before. He was with the Angels at that time and would have missed the entirety of the 2020 minor-league season had it not been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly was released by Los Angeles shortly thereafter and joined the Red Sox as a minor-league free agent that December.

At this point in time, it is not yet known if Kelly will be able to pitch again this season. The righty currently owns a 3.68 ERA with six strikeouts to six walks in his first six relief appearances (7 1/3 innings) of the season after making his first-ever Opening Day roster last month. He was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list this past Sunday.

When he left last Wednesday’s game, Kelly was visibly upset and had tears in his eyes. At that moment, his previous elbow injury and unique journey from going undrafted out of Division II Newberry College to the major-leagues were both on his mind.

“I was definitely emotional for two reasons,” said Kelly. “One, because I care. I care about this game, these guys and I enjoy doing this. Two, just all the shit I went through to get here. It’s just a lot. Whenever something like that happens, you get emotional about it.”

(Picture of Zack Kelly: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Corey Kluber’s struggles continue as Red Sox fall to Twins, 10-4; Enmanuel Valdez records 2 hits in debut

The Red Sox fell behind early and could not recover against the Twins on Wednesday night. Boston fell to Minnesota by a final score of 10-4 at Fenway Park to drop back to under .500 on the season at 9-10.

Corey Kluber, making his fourth start of the year for the Sox, was unable to reverse his early-season struggles. Instead, the veteran right-hander got shelled for seven runs (all earned) on six hits, two walks, and two hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over five innings of work.

The Twins got to Kluber right away in the top of the first. After Max Kepler drew a leadoff walk and Byron Buxton ripped a one-out double, Trevor Larnach drove in the first run of the game by plating Kepler on an RBI groundout. Moments later, Edouard Julien gave Minnesota a 3-0 lead out of the gate by clubbing a 418-foot two-run home run into the right field bleachers.

Kluber managed to get through a scoreless second inning but ran into more trouble in the third. After walking Larnach and plunking Julien to put runners at first and second with one out, the righty gave up an RBI single to Jose Miranda. Joey Gallo followed by unloading on a hanging, 2-2 curveball and sending it 417 feet to deep right field.

Gallo’s three-run blast put the Twins up, 7-0, heading into the bottom of the third. The Red Sox then got one of those runs back when Raimel Tapia scored Triston Casas from third base on an RBI groundout off opposing starter Joe Ryan.

Kluber, for his part, retired the side in order in the fourth and stranded two runners in a scoreless fifth inning. Still, it was a discouraging outing for the 36-year-old, who finished with 103 pitches (65 strikes) and is now 0-4 with an ERA of 8.50 to begin his tenure in Boston.

With Kluber’s day over, the Red Sox lineup struck again in the latter half of the fifth. Jarren Duran led off with a hustle double, moved up to third on an Enmanuel Valdez single, and then scored his side’s second run as Alex Verdugo grounded into a 3-6-1 double play.

Trailing 7-2 going into the sixth, Ryan Brasier received the first call out of the Boston bullpen from manager Alex Cora. Brasier sandwiched a Max Kepler double in between the first two outs of the inning before issuing a six-pitch walk to Buxton. He then served up a 423-foot three-run home run to Larnach that gave the Twins a commanding 10-2 advantage.

Enrique Hernandez took Ryan 371 feet over the Green Monster with two outs in the bottom sixth for his third home run of the season and the 100th of his career. After Richard Bleier and Kaleb Ort combined for three scoreless innings of relief, the Red Sox made things somewhat interesting in the ninth.

Hernandez, Reese McGuire, and Casas all reached to fill the bases with no outs. Duran then plated Hernandez from third with a sacrifice fly to make it a 10-4 game. But Twins reliever Brent Headrick got Valdez to line out and Verdugo to fly out to kill any chances of a comeback.

All told, the Red Sox went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base as a team in Wednesday’s 10-4 loss, which took two hours and 37 minutes to complete.

Valdez has two hits, fielding error in debut

Second baseman Enmanuel Valdez made his major-league debut on Wednesday night after getting called up from Triple-A Worcester earlier in the afternoon. The 24-year-old began his day by singling to the opposite field in each of his first two plate appearances. He then struck out swinging in the seventh and lined out in the ninth to finish 2-for-4 with two left on base.

Defensively, Valdez committed the game’s only error. With two outs and one runner on in the top of the fifth, Valdez could not come up with a 201-foot flyball off the bat of Joey Gallo that landed between him and Alex Verdugo in the right field glass. He was charged with a fielding error as a result.

Hernandez’s 100th career home run

By taking Joe Ryan deep into the Monster seats in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s loss, Enrique Hernandez notched the 100th home run of his big-league career. The solo shot left his bat at 101.4 mph and travelled 371 feet at a launch angle of 30 degrees.

Next up: Maeda vs. Houck to close out homestand

The Red Sox will once again look to secure a series victory over the Twins on Thursday afternoon before embarking on a two-city, six-game road trip. Tanner Houck is slated to start for Boston opposite fellow right-hander Kenta Maeda.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Corey Kluber: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

Red Sox prospect Enmanuel Valdez starting at second base, batting ninth in major-league debut

Red Sox infield prospect Enmanuel Valdez will make his major-league debut against the Twins at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.

Valdez was called up from Triple-A Worcester after fellow infielder Yu Chang was placed on the paternity leave list. The 24-year-old will start at second base and bat ninth for manager Alex Cora in the middle game of this three-game series with Minnesota.

Acquired from the Astros with outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu for catcher Christian Vazquez last August, Valdez is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 19 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Red Sox added the Dominican Republic native to their 40-man roster in November so that he would not be eligible for minor-league free agency or the Rule 5 Draft.

Valdez closed out the 2022 season with the WooSox and played with Toros del Este of the Dominican Winter League over the winter. He then showed flashes of his potential in his first spring training with the Red Sox by clubbing two home runs and posting a .389 on-base percentage in 15 Grapefruit League games before being optioned in mid-March.

Though Valdez returned to Worcester for the start of the 2023 minor-league season, he had not gotten off to the best of starts leading up to Wednesday’s promotion. In 11 games with the WooSox this year, the left-handed hitter has batted just .179 (7-for-39) with three doubles, one home run, six RBIs, three runs scored, one stolen base, six walks, and 15 strikeouts in 45 plate appearances.

While those numbers may not look too encouraging, Valdez recently came through with three clutch hits — a solo homer, a game-tying double, and a walk-off single — in Saturday’s 6-5 victory over the Columbus Clippers at Polar Park.

As he prepares to debut with the Red Sox, Valdez will first be going up against Twins starter Joe Ryan to begin things on Wednesday night. Ryan, a righty, has held opposing left-handed hitters to a measly .103/.133/.310 slash line through three starts so far this season. Valdez, meanwhile, has gone 7-for-27 (.257) with that one home run against right-handed pitching in 2023

On the other side of the ball, all 11 of Valdez’s starts this season have come at second base, where he has committed just one error and been involved in six double plays while logging 88 2/3 innings at the position. The versatile 5-foot-8, 191-pounder has past experience at a plethora of other positions as well, but it appears the Red Sox are most comfortable using him at the keystone to kick off his first stint in the majors.

Valdez will wear the No. 47, which was last worn by Yolmer Sanchez last year. He will also become the second Red Sox player to make their big-league debut this season, joining Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida, who evidently is out of Wednesday’s starting lineup.

Taking all of that into consideration, it is worth mentioning that Valdez may not be with Boston for long if the plan is to send him back to Worcester once Chang is ready to return to action in the coming days.

Additionally, it is disappointing to relay that Vazquez, who is now with Minnesota, is not in his new team’s lineup after starting in the opener. Ryan Jeffers will instead be getting the start behind the plate for Rocco Baldelli’s American League Central-leading Twins.

With that, first pitch from Fenway Park on Wednesday night is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN+ and MLB Network. While Ryan will be starting for Minnesota, fellow right-hander Corey Kluber is slated to make his fourth start of the season for Boston.

(Picture of Enmanuel Valdez: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox call up infield prospect Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Worcester, place Yu Chang on paternity list

The Red Sox have called up infield prospect Enmanuel Valdez from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced prior to Wednesday’s contest against the Twins. In order to make room for Valdez on the active roster, fellow infielder Yu Chang was placed on the paternity leave list.

Valdez, 24, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 19 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The Red Sox originally acquired Valdez alongside outfield prospect Wilyer Abreu from the Astros for catcher Christian Vazquez last August.

After closing out the 2022 season with Worcester, Valdez was added to the Sox’ 40-man roster in November in order to avoid reaching minor-league free agency and becoming eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. He showed flashes of his potential in his first spring training camp with Boston by clubbing two home runs and posting a .389 on-base percentage in Grapefruit League games.

“He can hit,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Valdez back in February. “This kid, he can hit. He controls the strike zone. He can hit. So we’ll try to help him defensively. More comfortable at second than other places. Both of them, Abreu and Valdez, they control the strike zone. They do damage in the strike zone. I’m excited to see them.”

To begin his first full season in the Red Sox organization, Valdez has not gotten off to the best of starts offensively. In his first 11 games with the WooSox this year, the left-handed hitter has batted just .179 (7-for-39) with three doubles, one home run, six RBIs, three runs scored, one stolen base, six walks, and 15 strikeouts in 45 plate appearances.

Despite the slow start at the plate, Valdez did come through with three clutch hits (a solo homer, a game-tying double, and a walk-off single) in a 6-5 win over the Columbus Clippers at Polar Park this past Saturday. For his career at the Triple-A level, the Dominican Republic native is a lifetime .256/.323/.472 hitter with 18 home runs and 68 RBIs in 93 total games spanning 412 trips to the plate.

Defensively, Valdez has proven to be quite versatile since first signing with the Astros for $450,000 as an international free agent coming out of San Juan de la Maguana in July 2015. So far this season, the 5-foot-8, 191-pounder has seen all of his playing time come at second base. With the WooSox last year, though, he also logged 24 innings at third base and 25 innings in left field.

Valdez, who does not turn 25 until December, is slated to become the second member of the 2023 Red Sox to make their major-league debut this season, joining Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida. With that being said, Valdez’s first stint as a big-leaguer may not last too long.

That being the case because, according to MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith, the Red Sox promoted Valdez “with the idea it might be for only a short period of time” since he is only replacing Chang while his counterpart is out on paternity leave. Chang and his wife, Ling, are expecting the birth of their second child soon.

Regardless of the circumstances, Valdez’s first call-up comes at a fitting time since Vazquez is in town with the Twins. As he prepares to make his big-league debut on Wednesday night, Valdez will be batting ninth and starting at second base for the Red Sox.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN+ and MLB Network.

(Picture of Enmanuel Valdez: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Chris Sale strikes out 11, Alex Verdugo comes through with wonky walk-off single to seal comeback as Red Sox defeat Twins, 5-4, in extras

The Red Sox came back to walk off the Twins in wonky fashion on Tuesday night. Boston defeated Minnesota by a final score of 5-4 in 10 innings at Fenway Park to get back to .500 and improve to 9-9 on the season.

With Sonny Gray starting for the Twins, the Sox quickly drew first blood in their half of the first. Alex Verdugo led off with a line-drive double and then came into score the first run of the game on an RBI single from Rafael Devers.

Chris Sale, meanwhile, made his fourth start of the season for Boston. The veteran left-hander looked like his vintage self, as he allowed just one run on three hits, two walks, and two hit batsman to go along with 11 strikeouts over six strong innings of work.

After tossing four scoreless frames out of the gate, Sale ran into some trouble in the fifth. There, a walk, hit-by-pitch, and infield single filled the bases with no outs. Sale then struck out Donovan Solano, but Carlos Correa followed with a run-scoring sacrifice fly to pull the Twins back even with the Red Sox at 1-1.

Sale avoided any further damage and ended his night by stranding former battery mate Christian Vazquez in an otherwise clean sixth inning. The 34-year-old southpaw finished with 94 pitches (63 strikes), inducing 19 swings-and-misses and topping out at 96.1 mph with his four-seam fastball.

With Sale’s day done, Josh Winckowski received the first call out of the bullpen from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in the seventh. Right away, Winckowski was greeted by Max Kepler, who took a 1-0, 85 mph slider on the inner half of the plate and deposited it 385 feet into the visitor’s bullpen to give the Twins a 2-1 lead.

That is where the score would remain as Winckowski held Minnesota at two runs through the middle of the eighth. The latter half of the inning is where things started to get interesting.

Enrique Hernandez led off with a line-drive single off new Twins reliever Griffin Jax. After Triston Casas struck out for a fourth time, the pinch-hitting Reese McGuire reached base on a catcher’s interference. Hernandez was able to go from first to third on the play since the ball was technically live when McGuire grounded to third.

That bizarre sequence put runners on the corners with one out for Jarren Duran, who proceeded to hit a chopper to second baseman Nick Gordon. With his momentum carrying him in that direction, Gordon attempted to throw out Hernandez at home. Gordon’s throw, however, was mishandled by Vazquez at the plate, which allowed Hernandez to score the tying run.

Closers Kenley Jansen and Jhoan Duran exchanged 1-2-3 innings in the ninth, sending this one into extras. In the top of the 10th, John Schreiber plunked Solano and walked Correa to fill the bases with no outs. The Twins then pushed across two runs on a Byron Buxton sacrifice fly and Jose Miranda RBI groundout.

Trailing 4-2 going into the bottom of the 10th, Kutter Crawford (the pitcher) entered the game as the ghost runner at second base for the Red Sox. With a short bench due to Christian Arroyo’s hamstring injury, Cora was forced to use Crawford (who pitched 6 1/3 innings of relief on Monday) as a pinch-runner after making a double switch and burning his designated hitter earlier in the game.

Representing the tying run, Hernandez led off the 10th by striking out, but he reached first safely as a result of a wild pitch on strike three from Jovani Moran. Crawford advanced to the third on the play and Casas followed by drawing a six-pitch walk to fill the bases for McGuire.

McGuire came through with a game-tying, two-run single, plating both Crawford and Hernandez by roping a 188-foot base hit to left field. Duran then re-loaded the bases by ripping a groundball single back up the middle, but Rob Refsnyder followed by grounding into a 5-3 double play.

Down to their final out in the 10th, the game was fittingly in Verdugo’s hands. Verdugo delivered by lifting a 300-foot single down the right field line. Out of the box, Verdugo thought it was foul, but the ball barely landed in fair territory as it bounced off the portion of the right field wall in front of the Pesky Pole.

After a lengthy umpire review, it was determined that the ball did indeed land in fair territory. As a result, Verdugo was credited with the sixth walk-off RBI of his career and the Red Sox went home winners despite going 5-for-20 with runners in scoring position and leaving 13 runners on base as a team.

Next up: Ryan vs. Kluber

The Red Sox will look to secure a series victory over the Twins on Wednesday night. Corey Kluber will get the start for Boston while fellow right-hander Joe Ryan will do the same for Minnesota.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN+ and MLB Network.

(Picture of Alex Verdugo: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Christian Arroyo out ‘a few days’ after tweaking right hamstring on Monday

The Red Sox could be without second baseman Christian Arroyo for the entirety of this week’s three-game series against the Twins at Fenway Park.

Arroyo tweaked his right hamstring while running out a groundball in the third inning of Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Angels. The 27-year-old came up gimpy on the play but he remained in the game until Alex Verdugo pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the ninth.

When speaking with reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) earlier Tuesday afternoon, manager Alex Cora indicated that Arroyo was dealing with tightness in his right hamstring and would be held out of action for at least “a few days” as a result.

“He’s doing OK,” Cora said of Arroyo. “We’ll stay away from him today, maybe tomorrow. Kind of like the same situation as [Masataka] Yoshida (who missed four games last week due to hamstring tightness). ” I don’t think it’s an [injured list] thing. We’ll take care of him and he will be ready in a few days.”

Arroyo has not gotten off to the best of starts at the plate this season. Through his first 16 games, the right-handed hitter has batted just .160/.192/.200 with two doubles, three RBIs, three runs scored, one stolen base, two walks, and 13 strikeouts in 53 plate appearances. He has, however, provided quality defense at second base thus far.

With Arroyo out of the lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against Minnesota, Enrique Hernandez will start at second (his third different position this season) for Boston. Additionally, Yu Chang will start at shortstop alongside Hernandez while Jarren Duran will get the start in center.

(Picture of Christian Arroyo: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Kutter Crawford shines out of bullpen, but Red Sox come up just short in rain-filled 5-4 loss to Angels

On a chilly and rain-soaked Marathon Monday at Fenway Park, the Red Sox were unable to complete a four-game sweep of the Angels. Boston fell to Los Angeles by a final score of 5-4 to drop back to under .500 on the season at 8-9.

After first pitch of the annual Patriots’ Day contest was pushed back from 11:10 a.m. to 12:06 p.m., Brayan Bello made his first start of the season for the Sox. The young right-hander showed signs of rust in his 2023 debut, allowing five earned runs on eight hits, one walk, and one hit batsman to go along with five strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings of work.

Bello ran into trouble right away in the top of the first. After yielding a one-out single to Shohei Ohtani and plunking Taylor Ward to put runners at first and second, the righty served up a 355-foot three-run homer to Hunter Renfroe that cleared the Green Monster and gave the Angels an early 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox were able to get one of those runs back in the latter half of the first. Matched up against Ohtani on the mound, Raimel Tapia drew a leadoff walk before taking second and third on a pair of wild pitches. He then scored from third on an RBI groundout off the bat of Rob Refsnyder.

The Angels responded in the top of the second, though, as Bello gave up back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before yielding a run-scoring groundout to Renfroe to make it a 5-1 game. Bello came back out for the third and recorded the first outs. The skies then began to open up as a one hour and 25 minute rain delay commenced.

Since the delay lasted that long, Bello’s season debut was shorter than expected. The 23-year-old hurler finished with 72 pitches (48 strikes) and induced 10 swings-and-misses. He also averaged 95.4 and topped out at 96.9 mph with his sinker.

Once the tarpaulin was removed from the field for a second time, Kutter Crawford came on to pitch in relief of Bello. Crawford got the final out of the third and took over in an effort to preserve the rest of the Red Sox bullpen. Over 6 1/3 scoreless frames, the 27-year-old gave up just one hit and no walks while striking out five of the 21 batters he faced.

While Crawford was in the process of shutting down Angels hitters, the Red Sox struggled to get anything going offensively on the other side of the delay. In the bottom of the fourth, for instance, Rafael Devers led off with a double and Masataka Yoshida and Triston Casas filled the bases by drawing back-to-back one-out walks off lefty Tucker Davidson.

Davidson, however, did not give in. Instead, he got Enrique Hernandez to line out and Reese McGuire to fly out to escape the jam. An inning later, Jarren Duran reached base on a one-out double but was left at second after Tapia fanned and Devers grounded out to extinguish the threat.

After Crawford worked his way around a pair of throwing errors in the top of the sixth, Boston finally broke through in the bottom half of the inning. Refsnyder led off with a double and Casas ripped a one-out double off new Angels reliever Aaron Loup. Hernandez then plated Refsnyder on a sacrifice fly before McGuire drove in Casas by beating out an infield single on a feet-first slide into first base.

That sequence of events trimmed Los Angeles’ lead down to two runs at 5-3. In the seventh, Duran drew a leadoff walk off Matt Moore and immediately stole second base. Again, though, Duran was stranded in scoring position as Tapia, Devers, and Refsnyder were all retired.

Following two more scoreless innings from Crawford, the Red Sox were down to their final three outs and still trailing by two runs in the bottom of the ninth. With Carlos Estevez pitching for the Angels, Alex Verdugo came off the bench and led off with a pinch-hit single. A one-out walk from Tapia put runners at first and second for Devers, who scored Verdugo by lacing a 112.1 mph RBI single to right field.

Estevez then got Refsnyder to strike out and Yoshida to pop out to end the rally there. All told, the Red Sox went 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base as a team in Monday’s 5-4 loss, which technically took five hours and 24 minutes to complete.

McGuire throws out base stealer

With one out and runners on the corners in the top of the sixth inning, Reese McGuire threw out Shohei Ohtani at second base for his first caught stealing in 16 attempts to begin the year.

Duran’s 2023 debut

While Brayan Bello’s 2023 debut did not go according to plan,the same cannot be said for Jarren Duran. Batting out of the nine-hole and starting in center field, the speedy left-handed hitter went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base.

Next up: Gray vs. Sale

The Red Sox will welcome the first-place, 10-6 Twins into town for the first of a three-game series on Tuesday night. Left-hander Chris Sale is slated to get the start for Boston opposite Minnesota right-hander Sonny Gray.

First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Kutter Crawford: Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week

Red Sox pitching prospect Shane Drohan has been named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 10-16, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

Drohan, 24, got the start for Double-A Portland this past Friday. Going up against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Delta Dental Stadium, the left-hander scattered just three hits and struck out six over six scoreless, walkless innings of work.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 71 (49 strikes), Drohan induced 12 swings-and-misses and ultimately earned the winning decision to improve to 2-0 on the young season.

Through his first two starts of the year for the Sea Dogs, Drohan has yet to allow a run and has posted a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 11-to-1 in 11 innings. He is holding opposing hitters to a .158 batting average against, which currently ranks seventh among qualified pitchers in the Eastern League.

Originally selected by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the COVID-shortened 2020 amateur draft out of Florida State, Drohan came into his third full professional season ranked by SoxProspects.com as the No. 12 prospect (fourth among pitchers) in Boston’s farm system after a strong showing in spring training.

As SoxProspects.com’s director of scouting Ian Cundall noted earlier this month, Drohan incorporated a new pitch (a cutter) to his arsenal over the winter while adding velocity to his fastball. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound southpaw now sits between 91-94 mph and tops out at 95 mph with his four-seamer after averaging 90.8 mph with the pitch last year. He also throws a curveball.

Drohan, who does not turn 25 until January, can become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft for the first time this winter if he is not added to Boston’s 40-man roster by the November deadline.

Given the start he has gotten off to in Portland the season , the chances of Drohan being added to the 40-man later this year are likely increasing. It also would not be too surprising if the lefty earned a promotion to Triple-A Worcester sooner rather than later.

(Picture of Shane Drohan: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)

Red Sox activate Brayan Bello, call up Jarren Duran in flurry of roster moves

Before wrapping up a four-game series against the Angels at Fenway Park on Monday morning, the Red Sox made a flurry of roster moves.

Boston reinstated right-hander Brayan Bello from the 15-day injured list and recalled outfielder Jarren Duran from Triple-A Worcester. In order to make room for Bello and Duran on the active roster, righty Jake Faria was designated for assignment while infielder Bobby Dalbec was optioned to Worcester, the club announced.

Bello will make his first start of the season in Monday’s series finale against Los Angeles. The 23-year-old began the 2023 campaign on the injured list after being shut down by right forearm tightness during the early stages of spring training.

Though he began the season on the injured list, Bello was never expected to be sidelined for long. He pitched in an extended spring training game down in Fort Myers and April 5 and made one rehab start for the WooSox at Polar Park last Tuesday.

In that outing, Bello allowed just one earned run on four hits, zero walks, and one hit batsman to go along with four strikeouts over six innings on 81 pitches (50 strikes). The Dominican-born hurler has the green light to pitch six innings again on Monday as he goes up against Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani.

Faria, meanwhile, spent one day on the big-league roster after having his contract selected from Worcester on Saturday. The Red Sox will have the next seven days to either trade, release, or waive the 29-year-old. If he goes unclaimed and clears waivers, Faria can refuse an outright assignment to the minor-leagues in favor of free agency since he has previously been outrighted.

Turning to the position players now, Dalbec was called up on April 10 in the wake of outfielder Adam Duvall being placed on the injured list with a fractured left wrist. In four games with the Red Sox, the 27-year-old went 2-for-9 (.222) at the plate with one stolen base, two walks, and five strikeouts. He also saw playing time at first base, third base, and shortstop.

Duran, 26, was a logical candidate to get promoted last Wednesday, but the Red Sox elected to go with the right-handed hitting Dalbec since the club was in the midst of facing a plethora of left-handed starters. Now that that portion of the schedule has passed, the left-handed hitting Duran will be batting ninth and starting in center field for Boston on Monday.

In his first 11 games of the season with the WooSox, Duran has batted .195/.353/.439 with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, six RBIs, eight runs scored, two stolen bases, 10 walks, and 11 strikeouts across 51 plate appearances.

(Picture of Brayan Bello: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)

Garrett Whitlock, Justin Turner power Red Sox to 2-1 win over Angels

Behind a strong start from Garrett Whitlock and one swing of the bat from Justin Turner, the Red Sox won their third straight over the Angels on Sunday afternoon. Boston defeated Los Angeles by a final score of 2-1 at Fenway Park to get back to .500 at 8-8 on the season.

Whitlock, making his second start of the year for the Sox, put forth a superb effort. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits and two walks to go along with five strikeouts over seven fast-paced innings of work.

That lone run came in the top of the second. After Anthony Rendon led off with a double and moved up to third, Whitlock surrendered an RBI single to Brandon Drury to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead. The inning ended shortly thereafter, as Connor Wong gunned down Drury at second base to retire the side.

Fast forward to the bottom of the third, and Alex Verdugo reached base on a one-out single off Angels starter Reid Detmers. Verdugo promptly stole second base to put a runner in scoring position for Turner, who delivered by crushing a 386-foot two-run shot over the Green Monster for his first home run in a Red Sox uniform.

Turner’s blast, which left his bat at 103.2 mph, put Boston up, 2-1. Whitlock then took over by retiring 11 of the final 12 batters he faced from the beginning of the fourth through the middle of the seventh, at which point his day came to a close.

Finishing with a final pitch count of 99 (61 strikes), Whitlock becomes the first Red Sox starter to pitch into the sixth (and seventh) inning of a game this season. The 26-year-old hurler also picked up his first winning decision of the year while lowering his ERA to 4.50.

With six more outs to get, Red Sox manager Alex Cora was put in a precarious position in regards to his bullpen. Because Kenley Jansen (who had pitched two straight days) and Chris Martin (who had just been placed on the injured list) were both unavailable, Cora turned to Kaleb Ort in the eighth.

Ort gave up a leadoff single to Gio Urshela and issued a one-out walk to Drury. After getting Logan O’Hoppe to fly out, Ort ended the inning by picking off the pinch-running Brett Phillips at second base. Ryan Brasier followed by striking out Mike Trout and getting Shohei Ohtani to fly out as part of a 1-2-3 ninth inning to end it.

Brasier’s first save of the season put the finishing touches on a a Red Sox win that took all of one hour and 57 minutes to complete.

Yoshida returns to lineup

After missing the last four games with light hamstring tightness, Masataka Yoshida returned to Boston’s lineup on Sunday. Dropped down to sixth in the order and serving as the Sox’ designated hitter, Yoshida went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. He was also hit by a pitch in the second inning.

Wong strikes again

By snuffing out Brandon Drury at second base to end the top of the second, Connor Wong has now thrown out four of six possible base stealers to begin the year.

Next up: Bello goes up against Ohtani in season debut

Brayan Bello will come off the injured list and make his season debut for the Red Sox in Monday’s series finale against fellow right-hander Shohei Ohtani and the Angels.

First pitch from Fenway Park on Marathon Monday is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. eastern time on NESN and MLB Network.

(Picture of Justin Turner: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)