Chad Tracy Reveals Red Sox Plan To Activate 28-Year-Old Reliever Soon originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox‘s bullpen has been one of the team’s bright spots despite their early struggles this season.
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Anchored by fireballer Aroldis Chapman, Boston’s bullpen boasts a 3.47 ERA, ranking fourth-best in the league. The Red Sox’s dominant bullpen is set to get even better when 28-year-old setup man Justin Slaten makes his return from the 15-day injured list soon.
Slaten has been sidelined since April 8 with a right oblique strain. Surprisingly, the Red Sox reportedly elected to recall long reliever Jack Anderson on Thursday after optioning Jake Bennett, even though Slaten had already completed two rehab starts.
Ahead of the Red Sox’s Friday matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays, interim manager Chad Tracy revealed that the 28-year-old will be getting activated in the coming days.
“I think you’ll see Slaten this weekend at some point active,” Tracy said, as transcribed by MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “Just with him throwing the outings in Worcester and then knowing that we’re not gonna have him go like Wednesday, Friday, Sunday.
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“Needing Jack with the length today was really important to make sure that we’re covered in our bullpen. But in some capacity, we’ll probably have Slaten back this weekend. We knew like he’s not going to throw twice this weekend. So we’ll get him in there.”
Slaten has excelled in limited action for the Red Sox this season, allowing only one unearned run in four appearances. The three-year veteran has played a big role for Boston the past three seasons, and his return should further bolster the already solid Boston bullpen.
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