Red Sox Select Contract of Righty Trevor Kelley from Triple-A Pawtucket
By Parker White
The Boston Red Sox are calling on some new blood to help out their bullpen. Trevor Kelley gets the nod from Triple-A Pawtucket, who will take a spot on the 40-man roster from catcher Oscar Hernandez, who has been designated for assignment.
Prior to tonight’s game, the #RedSox selected RHP Trevor Kelley to the active major league roster from Triple-A Pawtucket.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 2, 2019
To make room on the 40-man roster, the club designated C Óscar Hernández for assignment. Kelley will wear number 71.
Boston also needed to make room on the active roster for Kelley, which they cleared by optioning right-hander Mike Shawaryn to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Kelley, a former 36th-round pick back in 2015, has been lights out down in the minors this season. In 28 appearances, the 25-year-old owns a 0.96 ERA with 34 strikeouts over 37.2 innings.
The latest #RedSox pitcher called up from Pawtucket is Trevor Kelley. https://t.co/s7h1ijladf
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) July 1, 2019
Kelley will not blow you away with velocity, as he features a sidearm delivery with a fastball that sits in the high 80s. However, he has great command and movement, and is holding lefties to a .077 batting average in 2019. To be fair, right-handers are actually hitting .282 against Kelley, which is not normal for a sidearm right-handed pitcher.
The Red Sox need to augment this bullpen somehow, and the addition of Kelley and moving Nathan Eovaldi to the closer's role could work in their favor.