Prior to tonight's game against the Cleveland Indians, the Boston Red Sox placed right-handed pitcher Matt Barnes on the 10-day disabled list with a low back strain. To fill his spot on the 25-man roster, the club recalled right-handed pitcher Hector Velázquez from Triple-A Pawtucket.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski made the announcement.
Barnes, 27, is 6-3 with a 3.60 ERA (24 ER) this season, ranking among American League relief pitchers in appearances (T-2nd, 59), innings (T-6th, 60.0), and holds (T-3rd, 21). He has held opponents to a .210 batting average with 66 strikeouts against 27 walks, with right-handed hitters posting a .564 OPS. In the past two seasons (2016-17), Barnes leads Red Sox relief pitchers in appearances (121), innings (126.2), wins (10), and holds (38). Selected by Boston in the first round (19th overall) of the 2011 June Draft, the right-hander has appeared in 158 major league games (two starts) from 2014-17, going 13-10 with a 4.23 ERA (84 ER/178.2 IP).
Velázquez, 28, is 2-1 with a 4.08 ERA (8 ER/17.2 IP) in four appearances (two starts) over three stints with Boston this season, allowing zero runs and only three hits in 7.1 innings as a reliever. The right-hander most recently pitched in a major league game on July 18 against Toronto, when he threw 4.0 scoreless innings and earned the win in a 5-4, 15-inning victory over the Blue Jays. He is also 7-4 with a 2.39 ERA (25 ER/94.0 IP) and a .225 opponent batting average in 17 starts with the PawSox, striking out 75 batters and walking 23. A native of Sonora, Mexico, Velázquez has made seven scoreless starts of at least 5.0 innings for Pawtucket. The Red Sox purchased his contract from the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League on February 18, 2017.