The Boston Red Sox watched Clay Buchholz leave Friday night's game against the New York Yankees with an elbow injury. He was placed on the disabled list on Saturday and one of the organization's top prospects will fill in during his absence.
Left-hander Brian Johnson got the call yesterday, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reported. He'll be the second rookie to join Boston's rotation in 2015, along with Eduardo Rodriguez.
Johnson, 24, was 8-6 with a 2.73 ERA and 1.097 WHIP in 16 starts (85 2/3 innings) with Triple-A Pawtucket before the promotion. He absolutely dominated Double-A Portland last season and went 10-2 with a 1.75 ERA and 0.932 WHIP in 20 starts (118 innings), which spurred speculation about the Sox calling him up this season.
Buchholz underwent an MRI this weekend, which revealed a strained flexor muscle in his forearm, according to Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com. It's unknown how long he'll be on the DL for, but Johnson will likely fill in throughout Buchholz's absence and is slated to make his MLB debut during the team's upcoming four-game series against Los Angeles Angels after the All-Star break.
Manager John Farrell hinted at Johnson's call up in the wake of Buchholz's injury.
"Regardless of status, regardless of place and grade, we'll take the most talented and best performers at the time," he told Edes. "If that means it's two rookies, that's what it means. Unless there's some change to the pitchers available to us, we'll map out a rotation with the guys who are available."
"As we come out of the break, now we have to adjust the rotation and who will fall on each of the given days," he added, via Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe. "We haven't announced that yet; we're still working through the alignment. But obviously Brian becomes a candidate to be one of the five as we come out of the [All-Star] break."
Johnson will have big shoes to fill. Buchholz has been the best starter on the team after his recent resurgence, which helped Boston climb back into the AL East race. Additionally, Rodriguez has been one of the top rookies in the MLB this season thanks to his 5-2 record with a 3.59 ERA and 1.139 WHIP in his first nine career starts.
However, the Red Sox's rotation has been one of the worst in the MLB this season, so Johnson has a good opportunity to stand out.
The Red Sox will face the Yankees today at 1:35 p.m. ET to determine the winner of the weekend series.
