Red Sox Calling Up Scuffling Southpaw To Supplant Star Hurler Placed On COVID List

Boston will have to survive without their lone All-Star

Scott Neville | Sep 14, 2023

Red Sox Calling Up Scuffling Southpaw To Supplant Star Hurler Placed On COVID List /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox will be in a precarious position for at least a week as one of their top hurlers will be unavailable.

Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen was placed on the COVID-19-related injured list on Wednesday -- meaning he will be out for at least a week. The right-hander exited Tuesday's matchup against the New York Yankees with dizziness prior to the diagnosis.

With the unexpected absence of Jansen, the Red Sox had to scramble a little bit and might have been aided by the game being postponed due to pouring rain. They finally made their selection late last night.

Boston has re-called left-hander Brandon Walter to the active roster in place of Jansen according to the Major League Baseball transaction log.

Walter has a lackluster 7.20 ERA with a 14-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .341 batting average against and 1.85 WHIP in 20 innings pitched this season. The 27-year-old rookie had a solid season brewing before his latest stint with Boston.

Walter entered Sept. 1 with a 3.07 ERA across 14 2/3 innings. He proceeded to allow 11 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings across two outings.

The rookie will likely serve in a long-relief role that we've been accustomed to seeing on a seemingly nightly basis.

More MLB: Ex-Red Sox Hurler Placed On Waivers, Would Reunion Make Sense?

Published Sep 14, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu