The Red Sox bullpen has suffered another blow.
The club announced Wednesday that right-hander Justin Slaten has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right oblique strain. The move is retroactive to April 5 and the Red Sox called up rookie left-hander Tyler Samaniego to fill his spot on the active roster.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Slaten began feeling sore on Monday and they decided to take a cautious approach when he didn’t show improvement.
“He started feeling his side a little bit tight two days ago, he got worse yesterday, this morning we were waiting to see if he was feeling better but it didn’t,” Cora said. “So we think the smart thing here with the past injuries is to shut him down instead of pushing and hopefully he’s back in 15 days.”
One of the club’s top bullpen options, Slaten has dealt with frequent injury issues since making his major league debut in 2024. The 28-year-old missed nearly two months towards the end of his rookie year with elbow inflammation, and last year he was sidelined for nearly half the season due to a shoulder injury.
So far this year Slaten hasn’t allowed an earned run over 3 1/3 innings through his first four appearances, striking out five while allowing two walks and two hits. The former Rule 5 pick typically serves as the club’s top high-leverage option in the seventh inning, ideally setting up Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock, but in his absence the Red Sox’s other bullpen arms will have to step up.