Red Sox relief player Chris Martin placed on injured list due to elbow inflammation

NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox right-hander Chris Martin was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday because of inflammation in his right elbow and left-hander Cam Booser was recalled from Triple-A Worcester.

Boston made the placement retroactive to Thursday, a day after the 38-year-old Martin pitched one inning against Miami.

“We’ll know more over the weekend. He wasn’t feeling so well after the last game. He felt sluggish and sore,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before the series opener at the New York Yankees. “We think it’s just a minor thing, but given that we’re in the middle of the season, with the day off on Monday and then the All-Star break, it obviously doesn’t make sense to send him out there and then lose him for an extended period of time.”

Cora said Martin felt a tension while playing catch on Friday.

Martin did not pitch for the Red Sox between May 30 and June 19 because of anxiety. He signed a two-year, $17.5 million contract with Boston ahead of the 2023 season and went 4-1 with a 1.05 ERA and 23 holds. This season, he is 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA and 10 holds.

A nine-year major league veteran, Martin is 15-18 with a 3.37 ERA in 350 games for Colorado (2014), Yankees (2015), Texas (2018-19), Atlanta (2019-21), Chicago Cubs (2022), Los Angeles Dodgers (2022) and Red Sox (2023-24).

Booser, a 32-year-old who debuted on April 19, has a 3.21 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 28 innings. In six games with Worcester, he is 2-2 with a 7.00 ERA.

According to Cora, first baseman Triston Casas, who has been out of action since April 20 with a strained left rib, had to bat 25 times on Thursday without hitting a ball.

Infielder Vaughn Grissom, who has been out since June 1 with a strained right thigh, was scheduled to be tested in the weight room on Friday.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

The Associated Press