David Price placed on the injured list with a wrist injury

I had a very long day at work today, and during one of my few moments of down time I thought to myself, “Self, you know what the Red Sox could really use right now? An injury to one of their starting pitchers.” The team has been pretty much in all facets of the game of late, but the starting pitching has certainly stood out for the most part in recent games in terms of poor performance. Well, things are only going to get worse as, prior to Thursday’s series opener against Mike Trout and the Angels, the team placed David Price on the 10-day injured list with a wrist injury. Hector Velázquez was re-called from Pawtucket to fill the empty spot on the active roster.

Price, of course, missed some time last year with carpel tunnel and it is believed that this is related. As of now, just a couple hours after the injury was made public, there is no timetable for his return. Price had been struggling of late, culminating in a terrible start down in the Bronx last time out in which he allowed seven runs in just 2 ²⁄₃ innings. He was scheduled to start Friday’s game at Fenway.

Velázquez comes up to take his place on the roster after being optioned back on July 15 in a string of moves that included Eduardo Núñez being designated for assignment. Since being sent down he has pitched 6 ²⁄₃ innings allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. None of his outings have been more than two innings, so he may not be a candidate to start on Friday.

The most likely scenario it seems would be to have Brian Johnson make the start. The southpaw started in last Saturday’s doubleheader against the Yankees and has not made an appearance since. He is also not really stretched out, so look for some combination of him, Velázquez and Ryan Weber in the early innings on Friday. That also puts some pressure on Chris Sale tonight as well as Rick Porcello on Saturday to go deep into the game. Fun times!