The Red Sox made several moves on Saturday, shifting both second baseman Brock Holt and lefty reliever Brian Johnson to the 10-day injured list with a right scratched cornea and left elbow inflammation, respectively. In corresponding moves, infielder Tzu-Wei Lin and right-handed reliever Marcus Walden were recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.
While no further details were provided on the origin of Holt’s injury, it seems likely that he’ll miss at least a couple of weeks in recovery. The 30-year-old infielder went 0-for-4 with a strikeout during Friday’s 15-8 loss to the Diamondbacks and owns an underwhelming .063/.211/.063 batting line so far this season. He’s shared second base duties with veteran infielder (and occasional pitcher) Eduardo Nuñez, who may see additional time at the keystone in the days to come.
Johnson, 28, has also faced some issues in his first few appearances with Boston. He almost single-handedly tanked the Red Sox’ game on Friday after allowing seven runs over just 1 1/3 innings of work, and currently carries a 12.71 ERA through his first four outings of 2019. Given the nature of most elbow injuries, he may be held off the mound longer than the requisite 10 days.
The Red Sox have collectively struggled to contain opposing batters these past two weeks; through Friday, they rank dead last among major-league pitching staffs with a cumulative 7.18 ERA and 6.71 FIP.
