The Boston Red Sox don’t have many left-handed pitchers to turn to out of the bullpen.
And the Red Sox might be down one of those options given the troubling injury news for pitcher Chris Murphy, who was in competition for a roster spot.
Murphy will be shut down and undergo an MRI on his elbow in Fort Myers, Fla., on Monday.
“Not recovering well from the last one in the elbow area,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Monday at JetBlue Park, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “So we’ll see what’s going on there. Obviously worry of course. But we’ll have more probably mostly likely tomorrow morning.”
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Murphy flashed his potential at times in his first go-around in the majors last season. The 25-year-old got off to a stellar start with the Red Sox when he was called up in June. Murphy took on the role as a multi-inning reliever and allowed just five earned runs over his first 28 1/3 innings of work.
Murphy hit some speed bumps after that, finishing the season with 20 appearances out of the bullpen while posting a 4.91 ERA to go along with one save and 49 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings.
The 2019 sixth-round pick was in the mix for a similar role this season. He made five appearances this spring with his last one coming this past Thursday against Philadelphia Phillies. It was a strong showing from Murphy, who notched five strikeouts and allowed no runs on one hit and one walk in 2 1/3 innings.
But after that contest, the injury issue popped up.
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“He was unable to bounce back,” Cora said, per Smith. “He was a little bit concerned with the elbow. We are, too. So we’ll take a look at it.”
The Red Sox don’t have many other lefties in the bullpen with Murphy’s future uncertain. Brennan Bernardino, who carved out a role with Boston after being waived by the Seattle Mariners last season, figures to be in line for a roster spot while Joely Rodríguez and Lucas Luetge are other options.
