Red Sox transfer Luis Guerrero to 60-day IL

The Red Sox announced some minor injury-related transactions today involving three right-handed relievers. Nick Burdi, who was on the 60-day IL with a foot contusion, has been reinstated and optioned to Triple-A Worcester. To make room on the 40-man roster, Luis Guerrero, who was on the 15-day IL with a sprained elbow, was transferred to the 60-day IL. In addition, Zack Kelly (oblique strain) has been reinstated from the 15-day IL and optioned to the minors.

Burdi, 32, was a second-round pick by the the Twins back in 2014 but didn’t make his big league debut until 2018 as a member of the Pirates. He struck out an impressive 38.3% of his opponents from 2018 to 2020, but did so in just 12 1/3 innings of work total as he was dogged by a series of elbow problems. He missed the entire 2021 season before re-emerging at the big league level with the Cubs in 2023, for whom he made just three appearances before he was sidelined once again due to appendicitis. He later pitched for the Yankees but battled hip issues before signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox this past season and having his contract selected in May. He’s spent most of his time as a member of the 40-man roster on the 60-day injured list due to a contusion of his right foot, however.

That laundry list of injury woes has left Burdi to total just 30 1/3 innings of work total for his career, which spans more than a decade in professional baseball and parts of six big league seasons. He’s struggled to a lackluster 5.34 ERA in that time as well, although it’s worth noting that his 31.2% strikeout rate and 3.84 FIP both indicate he’s pitched better than those lackluster results would imply. His strikeout rate is down to 23.1% in Boston this year, but he’s posted 5 1/3 scoreless innings across four appearances. He’ll head back to the minor leagues and serve as non-roster depth for the club going forward.

Making room for Burdi on the 40-man roster is Guerrero, a rookie who made his big league debut last year. He’s made 22 appearances while shuttling between Triple-A and the majors since then, and has generally pitched quite well with a 2.63 ERA and 3.49 FIP in 27 1/3 innings of work despite a lackluster 17.6% strikeout rate. Guerrero was shelved in late June due to an elbow sprain, but the injury appears to be serious enough that he’ll need to miss at least another month. He’ll now be ineligible to return to the majors until August 27 at the absolute earliest, but given the nature of elbow injuries it wouldn’t be a shock if Guerrero ends up being out for longer than that or even potentially not pitching again this year. No timeline for his return to action has been provided by the Red Sox at this point.

As for Kelly, the 30-year-old is in his fourth season as a member of the Boston relief corps. He’s struggled with his results this year, posting a 5.56 ERA in 22 2/3 innings of work, though a 3.63 FIP and 24.3% strikeout rate both offer at least some reason for optimism about his ability to turn things around now that he’s healthy and back to pitching. Of course, he’ll first need to prove himself at the Triple-A level given that the club’s middle relief mix is currently occupied by pieces like Jorge Alcala, Jordan Hicks, and the newly-acquired Steven Matz.