Red Sox

Red Sox call up Chris Murphy for potential MLB debut Tuesday

Murphy has made 10 appearances, including nine starts at AAA this season.

Chris Murphy was a sixth-round pick by the Red Sox in the 2019 MLB Draft. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

June 6, 2023

The Red Sox are calling up pitcher Chris Murphy to make his major league debut this week.

According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, the 25-year-old Murphy will be placed on the active roster on Tuesday, ahead of Boston’s series opener with Cleveland Tuesday night.

At AAA this year, Murphy has made 10 appearances, nine of which were starts, and has a 7.71 ERA.

While Murphy has been a starter for the majority of his minor league career, it’s unclear how the Red Sox intend to use the lefty initially. As of Tuesday, Boston does not have a starting pitcher set for their matchup with Cleveland on Wednesday or Thursday.

James Paxton is the team’s scheduled starter against the Guardians on Tuesday, and the ball would normally go to Chris Sale next.

Sale, however, is currently on the 15-day injured list after he injured his left shoulder last Thursday.

If Alex Cora doesn’t want to throw Murphy into the fire just yet as a major league starter, he could put Corey Kluber back in the rotation.

Kluber was moved to the bullpen after his start on May 21 where he allowed five runs in 2.1 innings.

So far the bullpen experiment with Kluber has also been rocky.

In his first relief appearance on Saturday, the righty pitched a scoreless inning and earned the win for the Red Sox. The next day, Kluber allowed two runs in two innings of relief.

To create room for Murphy on the active roster, Cotillo reported that righty reliever Kaleb Ort will be optioned down to AAA.