The Boston Red Sox had to do something about their bullpen.

Red Sox relievers posted a collective 8.44 ERA over the second week of May, which finally prompted Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom to make a real change. The team later designated veteran Ryan Brasier for assignment, after the 35-year-old had started the 2023 season with a horrid ERA of his own at 7.29.

They’ve now made a corresponding move, along with further changes in the pen, amid a recent ugly streak.

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• The Red Sox announced on Monday that they had DFA’d Brasier, and the move was in order to make room to activate lefty Joely Rodriguez. The latter had been working his way back from an oblique injury, and has yet to make his regular-season Red Sox debut.

  In a separate announcement on Tuesday, the Red Sox added Ryan Sherriff to the major league roster out of Triple-A Worcester. The 32-year-old Sherriff last pitched in the majors in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Rays.

  Sherriff quickly made his Red Sox debut Tuesday night against the Mariners, pitching one full scoreless inning between the sixth and seventh. He struck out one batter and threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes. So far, so good for the journeyman with a great pitcher’s name.

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  Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

• The Red Sox’ bullpen transactions didn’t stop there. Unfortunately, the shuffle also included moving John Schreiber to the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain.

  They also optioned Brennan Bernardino to Triple-A as part of the bullpen shakeup. To complete the corresponding moves, they called up righty Justin Garza from Worcester.

  Garza also pitched in Tuesday night’s 9-4 win over the Mariners, with a scoreless ninth inning.

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• The Red Sox’ bullpen had been taxed to the point of Alex Cora putting utility man Pablo Reyes on the mound for mop-up duty in a 10-1 loss on Monday. That, coupled with Schreiber’s injury, made it a necessity to bring up fresh arms in Sherriff and Garza.

  We’ll see if either of the new faces sticks around for more than a cameo in Boston, but they certainly pitched well enough to warrant further major-league work. The departure of Brasier still constituted a legitimate shake-up for a unit that has been at best feast-or-famine so far in 2023.

  Click here for complete Boston Red Sox coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

  Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.

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