Boston Red Sox: Brian Johnson to Get Spot Start On Tuesday

With Eduardo Rodriguez being placed on paternity leave, lefty Brian Johnson will be called up to start on Tuesday for the Boston Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez was scheduled to make his third start of the season on Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays, but the team has placed him on the paternity list after Rodriguez’s wife gave birth to their second child on Monday morning.

The corresponding move for Monday’s early Patriots’ Day game against the Tampa Bay Rays was Ben Taylor‘s return to Boston after spending a few days in Pawtucket. Taylor has already appeared in three games for the Red Sox this season, allowing three hits and one run over 5.1 innings while striking out seven batters.

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The Red Sox are now in need of a spot starter for Tuesday and 26-year-old Brian Johnson will get the call from Pawtucket. Johnson earned a loss in his first and only major league start back in 2015, where he allowed four runs over 4.1 innings. He struggled to a 4.09 ERA in fifteen starts for Pawtucket in 2016 before taking time off to get treatment for anxiety. Johnson returned to the team this season with a fresh mind, but was hit in the head with a line drive in his first start for the PawSox (Johnson was also hit in the head while pitching for Lowell in 2012).

Luckily, any serious injury was avoided and Johnson pitched 6.2 innings in his next start with eight strikeouts and only one run allowed. He has a 1.69 ERA with fifteen strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP in his two starts so far this season.

Johnson has clearly gone through quite a bit during his six year minor league career. Clearly, the Boston Red Sox are invested in his development as both a potential part of their rotation and as a human being. He has certainly earned a chance to prove himself in the majors, unlike Henry Owens who was the designated spot starter for the previous two seasons.

Owens appears to be trending in the right direction now, as evidenced by his 0.82 ERA over his two starts for the PawSox this year, but he only pitched more than five innings once in his five starts for the Red Sox last season.

Johnson will also be getting the call over Kyle Kendrick, who impressed in Spring Training, but has no minor league options. Johnson can be returned to Pawtucket after his start, but bringing Kendrick up for one start would mean that he would need to be designated for assignment before he could be returned to the PawSox and the Red Sox likely do not want to risk another team claiming him.

Kendrick’s performance has not been comparable to his Spring Training numbers anyway; he has allowed fifteen runs over thirteen innings in two starts, good for a 10.38 ERA.

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He has allowed five home runs while striking out only eleven batters.

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