Red Sox place pitcher on IL after rough outing

Johan Oviedo is headed to the shelf.

As reported by MassLive's Chris Cotillo on Friday, the Red Sox are placing Oviedo on the injured list with what Cotillo reports as a "right elbow strain." The team later officially announced this as part of all their latest roster moves.

Oviedo is coming off a brutal appearance in Houston, allowing four runs in 3 2/3 innings to the Astros. The righty let up two home runs and six total hits, plus a walk and a hit batter, in an outing that was supposed to stop the bleeding after starter Ranger Suarez struggled in his Red Sox debut. According to Fangraphs, Oviedo's average fastball velocity was only 93 mph in his appearance against the Astros, well down from his 2025 average and career average of 95.5 mph. Cotillo later followed up his report saying that Oviedo will visit Dr. Keith Meister to "compare MRIs and see if they can explain what’s going on."

For corresponding moves, the Red Sox are expected to call up right-handed pitchers Zack Kelly and Tyler Uberstine, per Cotillo. They also announced that reliever Garrett Whitlock is being placed on paternity leave, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (via Mac Cerullo) that he and his wife welcomed a new baby Thursday night.

The Sox have their long-awaited home opener at Fenway Park Friday afternoon against the San Diego Padres, with first pitch expected at 2:10 p.m. EST. Here's the officially announced batting lineup for Friday's Fenway opener:

DH Roman Anthony
SS Trevor Story
LF Jarren Duran
1B Willson Contreras
RF Wilyer Abreu
3B Caleb Durbin
2B Marcelo Mayer
C Carlos Narvaez
CF Ceddanne Rafaela

The Red Sox (1-5) have dug an early hole for themselves, having dropped five in a row since winning on Opening Day. They sit four games back of the first-place Yankees (5-1) in the American League East. Sonny Gray (0-0, 6.75 ERA) opposes the Padres' Michael King (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on the mound Friday.