The Red Sox broke the seal on mid-series roster moves yesterday when they removed Garrett Richards because of a hamstring injury, replacing him with Matt Barnes. Barnes quickly got some work in during yesterday’s blowout, tossing a scoreless, if rocky ninth inning. By that point, Boston was riding an eight-run lead and could allow Barnes to work himself in and out of trouble.
The Rays may be next in line to make a roster move. Righty Matt Wisler surrendered a three-run homer to J.D. Martinez that put the Red Sox up for good, and in the process, the Rays might have lost more than just game two.
Wisler aggravated a previous finger injury that twice landed him on the injured list during the regular season, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. It is not yet clear if the Rays will make a move. If they do, Wisler would be out until the World Series at the earliest.
The Rays sent Michael Plassmeyer to the Giants for Wisler in June when his value was low. The veteran had seen some poor luck while having a tough start in terms of raw run prevention, posting a 6.05 ERA in 21 games with the Giants despite a 4.10 FIP. He promptly turned it around in Tampa, making 27 appearances with a 2.15 ERA/2.22 FIP over 29 1/3 innings.
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