The Red Sox have placed reliever Kaleb Ort on the restricted list. In a corresponding move, outfielder Jarren Duran was recalled from Triple-A Worcester, the club announced before Friday’s series opener against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
Ort is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and is therefore unable to enter Canada legally. That mandate will be dropped by the Canadian government on Saturday, however, so the right-hander will be able to join the Red Sox in Toronto for the final two games of the series at Rogers Centre.
In 24 relief appearances for Boston this season, Ort has posted a 6.26 ERA and 4.91 FIP to go along with 27 strikeouts to 15 walks over 27 1/3 innings of work. The 30-year-old hurler picked up the first save of his big-league career in Thursday’s 5-3 win over the Orioles at Fenway Park.
Rather than replace Ort with another pitcher, the Red Sox opted for a position player in Duran. The speedy 26-year-old missed Boston’s last trip to Toronto due to his unvaccinated status, but he has since received the shots and traveled with the team to Canada on Thursday.
In his first major-league action since late August, Duran will bat leadoff and start in center field for the Red Sox on Friday. The left-handed hitter is currently slashing .220/.283/.365 with 14 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 17 RBIs, 23 runs scored, seven stolen bases, 14 walks, and 63 strikeouts over 57 games (219 plate appearances) this season.
With Duran on the active roster for the time being, the Sox will be carrying catcher Ronaldo Hernandez, left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez, and right-handers Bryan Mata and Josh Winckowski on their taxi squad.
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