Surprisingly, the Red Sox sent Josh Winckowski down and activated Brayan Bello off of injured reserve.
Bello will start for Boston in the series finale against the Washington Nationals on Sunday after being activated off the 15-day injury list, the team said. Reliever Josh Winckowski of the Red Sox is oddly being sent down to Triple-A Worcester to make way for Bello.
For the Red Sox this season, Winckowski has performed admirably in the mound. The right-hander has made 12 appearances, pitched 24 1/3 innings, and has a 3.33 ERA. He has made a few pinch starts during the Red Sox’s late-April and early-May pitching shortage.
Winckowski was in the running to be one of the starting rotation places for the Red Sox going into the season. The 25-year-old began his major league career in 2022 as a starter pitcher, but since the beginning of the previous campaign, he has nearly entirely been utilized as a reliever.After returning to Triple-A, Winckowski will once again start games, Red Sox manager Alex Cora informed reporters on Sunday.
Bello had been out since April 21st because of stiffness in his right lat. A few days later, after making his most recent start, he was placed on the injured list. Nevertheless, Bello wouldn’t be out for very long, Red Sox manager Alex Cora maintained at the time, and the injury list placement was just a precaution.
After making a rehab start earlier in the week, Bello, the Red Sox’s Opening Day starter, was expected to be activated for Sunday’s game. In his first game back with Double-A Portland, he let up three runs over two and a third innings, but he later assured reporters he felt OK.
Through an interpreter on Tuesday, Bello said, “Obviously, I didn’t have the command I had at the start of the year, but I feel really good.” “I feel really good, and I’ll be ready to go when I’m supposed to go on Sunday.”Before getting hurt, Bello made five starts and had a 3.04 ERA, going 3-1.
Beyond Bello, there will be further support added to the Red Sox starting lineup. Garrett Whitlock is scheduled to begin his rehab on Wednesday, and he may be activated soon after. After missing some time due to a right elbow flexor injury, Nick Pivetta also returned to the starting lineup earlier this week.
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