Slaten (elbow) on 15-day injured list
One that got away Getting into the swing
The Red Sox placed reliever Justin
slaten on the 15-day injured list Friday, retroactive to July 9, with right elbow inflammation. Cam booser was recalled from Triple A Worcester to take Slaten’s spot in the bullpen.
“He’s been grinding through it probably the last 15 days and he wasn’t able to bounce back from the last one in New York,” manager Alex
Cora prior to the Sox’ 6-1 loss in the series opener against the Royals. “I think it’s smart to put him on the IL. We’ve got the All-star break and hopefully he’ll be back right after the Dodgers series [in Los Angeles that follows the break]. It’s his first time pitching this much and obviously we’ve got to be careful with him.”
Slaten, a rookie, has logged 42„ innings. Following his outing last Sunday against the Yankees, when the righthander registered a scoreless frame in a win, Slaten alluded to how diligent the Sox have been with him given his inexperience in the majors.
“The stuff that the [training staff ] has us doing [is huge],” he said. “Every day when we come in here they’re just making sure we feel right. They have a plan for us. There are some days you come in you feel really good and some days you come in and not feeling that good.”
Given Slaten’s success, compiling a 3.38 ERA and a 1.031 WHIP, his innings typically come in high-leverage moments, creating even more duress on the arm. An injury like this, which Cora categorized as minor, isn’t necessarily a surprise to the club.
“When he became one of our highleverage guys, the workload is a lot,” Cora said. “The effort is different. He’s been good. It’s just with this injury it took him longer than expected.
“For us to push him in this series for one game and then something else happens and we lose him for a month, it just doesn’t make sense.”
For booser, the promotion from Triple A marks the third of the season for the lefthander. booser worked a clean seventh inning against the Royals.
Red Sox chief baseball officer
Craig breslow had the right idea when he tried to sign seth Lugo last winter.
The righthander is 11-3 with a 2.21 ERA through 19 starts for the Royals and is a first-time All-star. Lugo will start opposite kutter Crawford on Saturday. Through Thursday, Lugo led the majors in ERA and was third in innings pitched (122).
Lugo agreed to a two-year, $30 million contract with Kansas City in December. He said Friday the Sox were one of the teams he was negotiating with during free agency.
“Just didn’t work out that way,” Lugo said. “There was a lot going into it . . . They were one of the last ones talking to me.”
Lugo played for Puerto Rico in the 2017 World baseball Classic. Cora put that team together and personally recruited Lugo, who was eligible because his grandfather was from the island.
Cora said he had a conversation with Lugo early in the free agent process.
“Health has been a red flag throughout his career but it seems like he’s been able to post every five days,” Cora said. “Pitchability is off the charts.”
That’s an understatement. Lugo has an eight-pitch mix with variations that give him a few additional looks.
Lugo said was intrigued with the idea of pitching for the Sox.
“It almost happened,” he said. “There’s a lot of cool stuff: the city, the history of the organization.”
triston Casas took soft toss and swung off a tee for the first time Friday as the first baseman continues to work his way back from a rib cage strain . . . Pitcher bryan Mata (shoulder) was at Fenway to throw a bullpen. Mata is scheduled to throw two or three innings Sunday for Worcester. The former top prospect was pulled off a rehab assignment in late May due to the injury but has made six appearances since. The righthander, who is out of minor league options, will have to be added to the team’s big-league roster at the All-star break or else the team would be forced to designate him for assignment . . . Pitcher Charlie Zink received a 56-game suspension without pay following a positive test for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance which violates the drug prevention and treatment program for minor leaguers assigned outside of the United States and Canada. Zink, an 18-year-old from Curacao, was rostered with the Sox’ Dominican Summer League team and had an 8.53 ERA in four starts . . . Cooper
Criswell was recalled from Worcester to start vs. the Royals and fellow righthander trey Wingenter was optioned.
Peter Abraham of the Globe Staff contributed to this report. Julian Mcwilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byjulianmack.