Richard Fitts was placed on the 15-day injured list with arm neuritis after stepping into a bulk role out of the bullpen. Walker Buehler remains in relief, so Boston must fill a rotation spot for Saturday's start against the Pirates. Cooper Criswell is on the minor-league injured list, leaving Kyle Harrison as the only healthy depth starter on the 40-man roster. Harrison started for Triple-A Worcester but was removed after three innings and 38 pitches, suggesting he may get the Saturday turn on three days' rest. Harrison has a 3.65 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts, averaging under five innings and struggling with pitch efficiency despite above-average stuff. Payton Tolle remains a prospect option but has not been discussed for promotion and is scheduled to start Thursday.
Fitts' injury again leaves that spot in question. Manager Alex Cora confirmed they're not going to reverse course on Buehler's move to relief (link via Tim Healey of The Boston Globe). That means they'll need to bring someone up for Saturday's start against the Pirates. Cooper Criswell went on the minor league injured list last week. That leaves Kyle Harrison as the only healthy depth starter on the 40-man roster.
Harrison started tonight's game with Triple-A Worcester. However, the Sox removed him after three innings and 38 pitches. That'd appear to tip their hand that they're viewing Harrison as the choice for Saturday. He'd be on three days rest but that should be sufficient recovery time after today's abbreviated outing. The southpaw has been on optional assignment since the Sox acquired him as the centerpiece of the Rafael Devers return.
He has a 3.65 ERA in 11 starts for Worcester, though he's averaging less than five innings per appearance. Tonight's deliberately brief outing is part of that, but Harrison has continued to struggle with pitch efficiency. That has been the question with Harrison, who has above-average stuff and strikeout potential while issuing a lot of free passes. The 24-year-old had started four of eight MLB appearances with San Francisco earlier this year, allowing a 4.56 ERA through 23 2/3 frames.
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