Kyle Kendrick is getting Thursday’s start

Steven Wright was placed on the disabled list on Monday. In the linked post, I mentioned the possible pitchers to take his start scheduled for Thursday and noted that Brian Johnson and Kyle Kendrick were the most likely options. If it was a short-term injury, I posited that Johnson would get the start. If it was longer term, it’d be Kendrick’s chance. Well, Kendrick is getting the start.

Kendrick is not on the 40-man roster, meaning another move will have to be made to get him on there. John Farrell didn’t make anything official immediately after the game, but it seems that Tyler Thornburg will likely be transferred to the 60-day disabled list.

If you recall, Kendrick was the story of spring training, emerging as the clear-cut favorite to lead the list of Red Sox depth options. Then, the minor-league season started and the righty started to struggle. He has a 6.00 ERA in four starts at Triple-A with 20 strikeouts and 5 walks in 27 innings. He did throw seven shutout innings his last time out, though.

It’s worth considering that Kendrick is out of options, so if he is to be taken off the major-league roster he will have to go through waivers before he can be sent back to Pawtucket. He also has an opt-out in the middle of June, so now is the time for the Red Sox to see what he can do in the majors. My guess is that the injury to Wright is bad enough that they’ll need a replacement for at least a few turns through the rotation. While I’m not overly confident in Kendrick, this is the time to see if any of his spring training performance was for real.