May 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A bag of baseballs sits on the diamond before a game against between the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Red Sox May Have Found Secret Weapon In Recent Triple-A Call-Up

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Jackson Roberts | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 6:00 PM ET

Zack Kelly has come close to earning the Boston Red Sox's trust before, only to lose his command at inopportune times. Will this stint be any different?

The Red Sox recalled Kelly from Triple-A Worcester on Monday after he spent over two months toiling away in the minors following his demotion at the end of June. At first, he looked like a placeholder for lefty starter Kyle Harrison. But now, Harrison is nursing an ankle injury, and more importantly, Kelly might be sticking around.

On Thursday, it was reported that the Red Sox plan to place righty Jordan Hicks on the 15-day injured list with shoulder soreness (also the perfect excuse to get him off the active roster due to his 8.20 ERA in Boston). That means Kelly is the fourth righty on the bullpen depth chart now, and it might open up some opportunities down the stretch.

Will Zack Kelly be an impact arm for Red Sox in September?

Kelly was the lone bright spot in Wednesday night's 8-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. He pitched four scoreless innings, striking out four batters, walking none, and allowing just two hits. It didn't have an impact on the scoreboard, but it kept the high-leverage arms fresh for this weekend's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After the game, manager Alex Cora praised Kelly's outing, though he stopped short of indicating that the Red Sox would lean on him more moving forward.

“He competed,” Cora said, per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. "He threw 33 pitches four days ago (in Worcester), and he went up to 60. We needed that. Obviously, we didn’t do much offensively, but he gave us a chance to try to get something going. That was really good.”

McCaffrey also noted Thursday that Kelly relied more on his cutter and four-seamer (and less on his sweeper) against Cleveland than he did at any point early in the season. So while his ERA still sits at 4.73 through 18 outings in Boston, perhaps there's hope that the two months of fine-tuning in Worcester made him a new pitcher.

Kelly won't surpass Garrett Whitlock or Justin Slaten as one of the team's primary setup man. But if it's down to him and Greg Weissert to face a pocket of righties in the middle innings, there may well be days when he gets the call, even in a tight ballgame.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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